Toronto's Young Empires send us straight to the dancefloor with this mixtape for The Block. www.myspace.com/youngempires
01. Sabali (Vitalic Remix) - Amadou & Miriam
02. Lies (Herve Remix) - Fenech-Soler
03. Hour of the Wolf (Lifelike Remix) - Adam Kesher
04. Dance the Way I Feel (Armand Van Helden Remix) - Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
05. Snake Charmer - Bag Raiders
06. Wait & See - Holy Ghost!
07. All Night (Azari & III Remix) - Voltage
08. You Know I Know It - Tensnake
09. La Mezcla - Michel Cleis
10. Rain of Gold (French Horn Rebellion Remix) - Young Empires
When I first told a friend that I’d be interviewing Frank Grillo, she innocently asked, “Who’s that?” To which I responded, “Trust me, you’d know him to see him. He’s been in practically everything — usually he plays a cop.” Despite two decades as a series regular on popular shows like Prison Break and The Shield, and an impressive resume of supporting roles in big-ticket films like Gavin O’Connor’s Pride and Glory, starring Colin Farrell and Edward Norton, 46-year-old Grillo is far from being a household name. But this may be the year all of that changes.
Dress, Dolce and Gabbana; Necklace, Janis by Janis Savitt
Model, actor, writer, and now director Jaime King has left no Hollywood stone unturned. Even on her days off, she finds something to accomplish. Like today: it’s been ages since King’s had a full 24 hours away from shooting the CW’s new series, Hart Of Dixie, but instead of taking a much-needed poolside break under the Los Angeles sun, King is fielding interview requests, running errands, and prepping for a photo shoot. “It may not be necessarily relaxing, but I’m still having fun,” King laughs.
Fall is truly the best time to be in Paris. Not only have the throngs of tourists eased up – October also plays host to Paris Fashion Week and, in more recent years, Diane Pernet’s acclaimed film festival, A Shaded View on Fashion Film(October 7-9). In conjunction with the Centre Pompidou, this year’s celebration of fashion in motion features submissions from across the board: YSL and Balenciaga play along side Gareth Pugh and Comme des garçons, with special entries by Daphne Guiness and Joseph Lally, and a retro accompaniment of Richard Avedon shorts.
Empty Spaces Between Desire and Fantasy, 2009 by Shine Shevan
It’s hard to imagine that a country with the highest concentration of world wonders could possibly have culture envy, but these days the French seem to have a serious hard-on for the southern hemisphere, namely India. The Pompidou’s current collection, dubbed Paris-Delhi-Bombay, offers a sociological look at Indian culture, while a few doors away at agnès b’s Galerie du Jour, both masters and contemporary fringe artists offer a more primal perspective.
Hooded sweater, Yigal Azrouël; Trousers, Robert Geller; Necklace, Pamela Love; Belt, Artemas Quibble; Boots, Rick Owens; all other jewelry (worn throughout), Lenny’s own
Rock might not be dead, but its stars are fading fast. Most rock stars still alive hardly look it, and their heirs? The new guitarmen and women might play something called rock, and they might be stars, but rock stars they are not. Once, rock smashed rules and mores and was larger and louder than life, and so were the dudes (Jagger, Cobain, Iggy Pop) and babes (Patti Smith) who made it. They were glam, rude, addicted, ill-behaved, unabashed, often un-hip and thus eternally cool. (more…)
The Asia Song Society, Terence Koh’s notorious, Factory-esque three-storey art gallery-cum-studio-cum-living space is almost entirely packed up the day The Block arrives to photograph the New York-based, Canada-raised art provocateur. He’s in the process of relocating from the Lower East Side to Chinatown, “where the snow fairies are,” he says, in the typically cryptic, frequently bizarre, yet good-natured way anybody familiar with Koh is used to him communicating. “I feel comfortable living amongst my people.” (more…)
Films about the era of organized French brothels are a dime a dozen. Films as beautiful and enchanting as House of Tolerance are once, maybe twice, in a lifetime. See it by any means possible.
Set at the turn of the 19th century, House of Tolerance (French: L’Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close) covers the span of mere months into the final days of one of Paris’ most prestigious and well-kept brothels. The film was written, directed and produced by Bertrand Bonello, a filmmaker known for his attention to beauty and detail and sexuality. Bonello’s last appearance at the Toronto fest was to debut his 2001 movie The Pornographer, which looked at sexuality through the eyes of a porn star. It, too, was also a silent hit, winning the 2001 Cannes prize for FIPRESCI Prize (International Critics Week).
Madonna screens her new film W.E. to Toronto audiences, the second time the film has been shown after debuting at the Venice Film Festival. The question: Is it good? The answer: It’s interesting.
It’s Madonna’s sophomore directorial effort, a biopic-ish flick largely about the life and love of Wallis Simpson, the woman who attracted King Edward VIII’s affection, prompting him to renounce the throne in 1936 in order to be with the woman he loves (what happened next for the royal family forms the premise of Oscar-winning The King’s Speech).
At 32, Skye Parrott is every bit a contemporary trendsetter. Part fashion photographer, she has contributed to V, Interview, i-D and Acne Paper. Part publisher, she is the co-creator of Dossier, a biannual art and fashion journal. She’s also an art photographer, curator and retailer running the bricks and mortar manifestation of her magazine, Dossier Shop, from the garden level of her Brooklyn home.
The women and men painted and drawn by Toronto-based artist Jen Mann are usually naked, always beautiful, and often carry a faraway look in their eyes. We had a chance to talk to Jen about her art, the power of the subconscious, and her upcoming show at Toronto’s Gallery 1313, opening on September 7. (more…)
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THE BLOCK MIXTAPE
by Young Empires
Mixtape: Young Empires
Toronto's Young Empires send us straight to the dancefloor with this mixtape for The Block.
www.myspace.com/youngempires
01. Sabali (Vitalic Remix) - Amadou & Miriam
02. Lies (Herve Remix) - Fenech-Soler
03. Hour of the Wolf (Lifelike Remix) - Adam Kesher
04. Dance the Way I Feel (Armand Van Helden Remix) - Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
05. Snake Charmer - Bag Raiders
06. Wait & See - Holy Ghost!
07. All Night (Azari & III Remix) - Voltage
08. You Know I Know It - Tensnake
09. La Mezcla - Michel Cleis
10. Rain of Gold (French Horn Rebellion Remix) - Young Empires
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