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I went to Lisbon on a different literary excursion on behalf of my love for the author, José Saramago. I did't really know all that much about Fado when I arrived and I still don't know all that much...but what I do know is that I have very little interest in purses or shoes but I have a lot of interest in music and the art of human expression and these mannequins didn't seem to want to sell anything to me, despite their flashy surroundings. They did want to sing and play music for me, though.
In this time of Coronavirus, I need music more than ever. My favorites are sometimes what you wouldn't expect-definitely not 'happy' pop music. I like the deep feelers like the band Low or GY!BE or Leonard Cohen or Broadcast. If I want something slightly more whimsical, Stereolab is usually my best bet. I've also been reading a great book about gender identity and music by Sasha Geffen called Glitter Up the Dark. I'm only up to 40% of the way through but I'd recommend it!
Another thing these mannequins are doing is reminding me of a time when all of the concerts and festivals I wanted to attend weren't getting cancelled and when I could actually experience all that great music live...though, ideally not in a store where I would also buy a purse (I don't own any purses. I own a camera bag.)
None of this has much to do with fado specifically, I guess. But, I saw this center mannequin and I could tell regardless of the genre, she was singing my song and without realizing it, my mirror neurons fired and I was singing a song of my own right with her. And I doubt that song was about shoes or purses. In fact, I know it wasn't.
***All photos are copyrighted***
Estrella beckons for you to join her on her journey back to her homeland. She promises that it's very beautiful but what strange beings lurk in this unknown foreign land?
Oh, that late-summer, late-afternon light. The riverside shown is noted below. Mother nature provided the floral arrangement. I was just in the right place at the right time.
The caption is the title of an old, happy-pop song, based on the tune of an even older serious "spiritual" song (Ain't Gonna Study War No More). I used to sing the pop song as a member of a men's quartette. Here is a link to what we thought was the first commercial version (by the Four Lads) recorded clear back in 1953.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k370gJadNc&list=PL2997606BD1...
Our quartette just sang it a cappella.
Location: River Wiese, behind Tierpark Lang Erlen, Basel City BS Switzerland.
In my album: Dan's Swiss Summers.
Asian woman playing guitar in park, with sunset light, Asia girl study and relax guitat with green nature background
Children from Nursery 1 Spaceships, were immersed in paint and bubbles this morning! Vivid inks mixed with soap (and straws) led them to discover the joys of blowing endless bubbles that grew and grew to create a multi-coloured bubble print artwork.
Here's my blog link and a chance to see my photo stream in monochrome:
One of my sweet little angels, Tessa, just got engaged in Washington DC to Davis!! One lucky man is he and one happy pops is I!
This little angle is captured here about 7 years ago in Port Douglas.
We don't care about the street demonstrations. We are happy popping bubbles!
These pictures are from my earlier visits to Vienna.
See my Vienna Slideshow!
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
Here at the biggest winery (Schmidt Family Winery) we went to was acres of sunflowers. I had never seen so many in all my life. they looked so happy popping out, saying hello!
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
The Pretty Reckless
Limelight - Milano
28 Marzo 2014
ph. Mairo Cinquetti
One night several years ago, Taylor Momsen’s father took his daughter to a White Stripes show. “Before that, the only concert I’d been to was Britney Spears,” says the singer, songwriter, and guitarist. “But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I can do that.’” Momsen was nine. Jack White’s raw power and deceptively simple guitar-and-vocal attack proved to be highly influential on the now 16-year-old Momsen, who began humming melodies before she could talk and writing songs at the age of five after falling in love with The Beatles. “I was obsessed with them,” she says. “I also loved Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Oasis, and Nirvana. That’s what I listened to. My rock idols are all men.” So it’s not surprising that Momsen channels a lot of masculine energy on LIGHT ME UP, her rock-and-roll-heroine-in-the-making debut album with her band The Pretty Reckless. The songs, all written by Momsen and Ben Phillips with their producer Kato Khandwala, run the gamut of emotions, alternating at times between seething rage and a bruised vulnerability. With Momsen’s inky vocals, pummeling riffs, and swaggering attitude, LIGHT ME UP sounds a bit like what might have happened had Led Zeppelin been fronted by “a chick.” The album’s ferocity could raise an eyebrow from those expecting a pretty, blonde teenager to gravitate toward straight-up pop songwriting. “It’s heavier than people might expect from me,” says Momsen, who is best known as the actress who plays Jenny Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl. “But this album is the most honest expression of who I truly am.” Momsen is a smart, emotionally complex young woman who has developed a strong identity despite growing up in the notoriously critical and fickle entertainment industry. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Taylor spent much of her time in NYC and at thirteen, she relocated to Manhattan. At two years old, Momsen signed to a modeling agency and a year later she began acting professionally appearing in commercials as well as films such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In 2007 Momsen was cast as a lead in the CW show Gossip Girl. “I didn’t choose acting or modeling, I got thrown into it,” Momsen says. “I liked it, so that wasn’t a problem, but music and songwriting are what I’ve always really wanted to do. I’ve been working with producers and hanging out in recording studios since I was five, I just couldn’t put out an album when I was eight,” she says with a laugh. “Now I can.” LIGHT ME UP is an unflinchingly honest chronicle of Momsen’s experiences, filtered through her unique point of view. “The record is about life,” she says. “It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I’ve experienced or observed. It’s not a happy pop record, but it’s not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren’t meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation.” The songs tackle everything from romantic insecurity (the full-throttle rager “Make Me Wanna Die,” which also appears on the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass), to despair (“You”), to how working non-stop can you make you feel like one of the un-dead (“Zombie”). Momsen pushes back against the haters on “Light Me Up” and asks how far you have to go to get forgiveness on “Going Down.” With her growly, world-weary alto, Momsen can do it all: garage-rock rave-ups (“Miss Nothing”), punchy blues-rock stompers (“My Medicine,” “Since You’re Gone”), as well as emotional power ballads (“Just Tonight”) and lovely acoustic guitar and string-driven numbers (“You”). “I’m not just writing something because I think people might like it,” Momsen says. “I hope they do, but I’m writing it because I have something to say. So many feelings go into the lyrics that it’s hard to explain what they’re about. Momsen first hooked up with Khandwala (Blondie, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Breaking Benjamin) and partner and songwriter, Phillips in October 2008. By the spring of last year, they felt they had hit upon a sound that felt authentic to her. “The three of us have similar musical taste, so it was easy to find that singular vision,” Phillips says. “Kato and I worked very hard to help Taylor reach her potential because we could see how talented she was right off the bat. She went into the vocal booth and began to sing and we turned to each other and went, ‘Holy sh*t, she’s f**’ing great.’ Her voice was astonishing. So many artists these days let their voices be discombobulated by computers. Taylor doesn’t do that. She doesn’t need to. She can walk into a room and kick your ass.”
Large Messenger Bag from LTTS made with black duck cloth, black piping and lined with Little Lisette ice cream fabric In yellow, the bag closes with black snaps.
The photos don't do the bag justic, the black on black is very elegant and the yellow gives a gorgeous happy pop when you see the lining. The bag is a Christmas gift for my mother after receiving this one, www.flickr.com/photos/73669617@N07/10412810824/ , for her birthday requested one in black for Christmas, and this is it!
Large Messenger Bag from LTTS made with black duck cloth, black piping and lined with Little Lisette ice cream fabric In yellow, the bag closes with black snaps.
The photos don't do the bag justic, the black on black is very elegant and the yellow gives a gorgeous happy pop when you see the lining. The bag is a Christmas gift for my mother after receiving this one, www.flickr.com/photos/73669617@N07/10412810824/ , for her birthday requested one in black for Christmas, and this is it!