Hurricane Bells: “This Year” from Tonight Is The Ghost, which you will buy here. Such a gorgeous, gorgeous album. Other favorite songs from this album are “Darkness Is So Deep,” “Crocodile” and “Tenterhooks.”

Wild Beasts: “All The King’s Men” from Two Dancers, which you will buy here. The whole record is catchy as hell (thanks to Mr. It’s Lexi, Bitch! for turning me onto this one).

The xx: “Islands” from xx which you will buy here. This is the most disturbingly good record I’ve heard in the last year or so, I love it dearly.

She & Him: “In The Sun” from Volume Two, which you will buy here. Obviously, the perfect summer record. Listening to it makes me feel like the “after” girl in antidepressant commercials, hanging out with adorable friends on a sunny porch, laughing, drinking iced tea and playing an impromptu game of flag football!….instead of sitting on my couch in sweatpants eating string cheese, which is what is usually happening. Additionally, my friend Kate did the cover art for this record and it’s super rad and sweet!

Pajo: “Where Eagles Dare” from Scream With Me, his record of acoustic Misfits covers THAT IS SO FUCKING AWESOME YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!!! You must, must, must buy it here. Even if you’ve never liked or listened to the Misfits, you will love this, I PROMISE YOU.

Massive Attack featuring Hope Sandoval: “Paradise Circus” from Massive Attack’s Heligoland which you will buy here. Oh my goodness, two of my favorites at the one time! It’s exactly what you would expect, totally unearthly and lazily paced and beyond beyond beyond sublime!

And, of course, saving the most life-altering for last……

Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce: “Telephone” from Gaga’s The Fame Monster which I’m going to assume you already own because if you don’t YOU SHOULD BE FUCKING EMBARRASSED.

Highly NSFW and highly fucking ferocious!

Here’s Rufus! (alternate names: Yellow Bastard, Mr. Ruffles, Butters, Shit Ears [due to a recent ear infection that has since cleared up], Rufey Tufey Pudding Pie, Ruf-a-luf, etc.)

These are the photos I first saw of him on Petfinder.com and fell instantly in love!

His name at the shelter was “Hermes” but when my sister thought I was saying “Herpes,” we quickly decided to change his name. I don’t need the neighbors to think I’m yelling STD names down the street.

We got his balls chopped off right quick, so when he first came home he had to wear a cone and seemed QUITE CONCERNED. Poor little deflated balloon now hanging betwixt his hind legs!

But he got comfortable very fast! Now he sleeps anywhere and everywhere in a tiny, tiny, tiny ball!

His other favorite sleeping position is the Smushy Face.

Rufus has hilarious teeth (it’s the bulldog in him), upon which his lip gets stuck constantly. Sometimes it’s just half, and he looks like Elvis. Other times it’s the whole thing. And he never, ever, ever realizes it!

He looooves the car and totally spaces out in the back. Look at his wee black patches on his dog-elbows! They feel like dinosaur skin and are so cute!

Mr. It’s Lexi, Bitch! took this VERY dignified portrait of the little fella on a trip they took to the desert. What a handsome chap!

He is a handful, but he is the sweetest, funniest little puppers that ever there was! Plus now I’m not the shortest thing in the house!

(good pictures by Lucas, of course, and grainy, shat pictures taken by me with my shat Blackberry)

Even if you don’t like fashion, you have seen McQueen’s artistry without even realizing it!

Example A: David Bowie’s “Earthling” album art…..McQueen and Bowie designed this jacket together.

Example B: Björk’s “Homogenic” album art concept, clothing AND photography….even though it looks like a painting, it’s an actual photograph of her.

His designs simultaneously appear to be centuries old and from the future. Without labeling these photos, you can’t tell what year these are from. Fall/Winter ‘99? Spring/Summer ‘09? They are mindblowing in their timelessness. I mean, can’t you see Marie Antoinette wearing this stuff, and can’t you see your great-great-great-great-grandchildren wearing it as they zip around in their hovercrafts?

The way McQueen could look at a body and see borders and shapes beyond its natural lines is fascinating to me. The best example of this is the Armadillo shoes he created:

They look hilarious, right? Then you see them being worn and look at how amazing they are!!!!

Some more of my favorite designs where he creates different shapes, volumes and borders:

At the same time he designed crazy, gorgeous, high-concept, totally out-there couture collections like this…..

…he also designed a discount line for Target of totally wearable, everyday clothes for people like me to wear. This is one of my favorites from that collection (that I wore to see Kylie, for whom McQueen designed stage costumes).

His garments have adorned everyone you can imagine, because his designs are so versatile. These are all so different from each other, so gorgeous, and each of these women looks so comfortable in his clothes.

Janet Jackson

Beth Ditto

Björk, of course

Lady Gaga, a frequent recent collaborator with McQueen.

Cate Blanchett

Anna Paquin

Dita Von Teese

Thandie Newton

Victoria Beckham

Rihanna

Katie Holmes

…..and even our First Lady, Michelle Obama!

My 5 runners up for favorite McQueen design of all time:

And my all-time favorite Alexander McQueen creation EVER EVER EVER EVER…….this dress that makes my heart stop.

Farewell to an innovator and inspiration….

(Photos collected from a million places under the influence of rum and mourning. Contact me if you own any of them.)

(Also, I know the spacing is all fucked up and the photos are all different sizes. I don’t know shit about that stuff, sorry.)

To channel our nervous and excited energy in the days leading up to the shows, we did what anyone would do. We made shirts and headbands to celebrate our Kylie.

“Understaaaaand, I’m a diamond for yoooooou, a white diamond for yoooooou” inspired us, naturally!

SO EXCITED I CAN’T EVEN DESCRIBE.

Upon rounding the corner and seeing the marquee, our screaming began and did not end for HOURS.

We planted ourselves on the first tier so we were at an even level with our girl, and then it began…….she descended from the ceiling on a giant crystal skull singing “Light Years.” We literally screamed bloody murder and both sobbed instantly. The Beatles’ crowd on Ed Sullivan had NOTHING on us. The guys in front of us gave us their spots within 15 seconds.

She brought that shit, and she brought that shit wearing an INCREDIBLE custom wardrobe from Alexander McQueen.

She walked down a man-staircase in stilettos, after her hot dancers took showers together under stage prop showers while videos of nude mens showering together were projected behind them. I keep re-reading that sentence and it doesn’t make sense. Sorry, just remembering it has made all the blood in my brain evacuate and rush to my nethers. Yes, this is why she is the queen bee.

This is the only point during which I didn’t scream, and that is simply because I was bawling as she sang “White Diamond” while acting out a tormented and sad love story with one of her male dancers, followed by “Confide In Me” and “I Believe In You.” This is why we wore waterproof mascara.

Fabulous Gareth Pugh headpiece, fierce-as-fuck Louboutin boots, welder mens dancing, and enchanting smile. IT’S JUST TOO MUCH TO HANDLE, IT REALLY IS.

The next night we did it all again in formal wear….

And our devotion was rewarded with a setlist! I look at this every single day and feel happy, and I listen to “Light Years” every single day and get the roller coaster belly all over again.

My beloved Kylie was charming, hilarious, personable and effortlessly entertaining…..and the cabaret version of “Locomotion” WENT OFF. Until next time, Kyles!

(All photos by Cella, thanks my sweet!)

THE BIG NEWS: This inspired my two darlings to start a new food blog! If you do well with recipes that instruct you to add “a couple farts of dijon mustard,” then The Decadence Factor is for you. I’ve been very lucky that these two know how to cook and do so AMAZINGLY, since I am differently abled in the culinary realm.

They also take pretty photos of their food and bevvies, like these little fuckers I barely remember….I had the gin sweats the next day something fierce!

L-R: Chef Julia, Eater Lexi, Chef Cella

Watch for the inevitable Food Network show sometime soon, likely to be called “The Lusty Chefs.” And yes, more posts to come soon, I have lots to cover from the last few months!

Dean was the bassist for Magic Dirt, an Australian band that has been one of my favorites for years. I discovered them in 1997 and was instantly smitten with their album “Friends In Danger,” which I happened to find in the import section of a record store in Santa Cruz. As time went on, I realized what a lark it was to have found that record in the States; though they had a U.S. record deal, their label did nothing for them aside from shipping it to a few stores once they heard it and the sound wasn’t what they were expecting. As a result, nobody I knew in my small, 13-year-old-world had heard of them or wanted to give them a chance. Desperate to talk to someone about their brilliance, I found their website and began posting on their message board, something I’d never done before. I couldn’t believe it when I realized the band members themselves frequented their message board, because to me they were as inaccessible and huge as the Rolling Stones.

Over the next couple of years, I conversed with Dean, their singer/guitarist, Adalita, and their manager, James, on their message board a lot – they were always interested in how overseas fans had heard of their band and what our local music scenes were like. Dean and I found common ground at one point when he was bored out of his mind in the hospital, having just gotten a foot tumor removed, and with little to entertain him outside of visiting hours but the laptop his bandmates smuggled into him. He downplayed his pain and lengthy recovery, but was going crazy with all of the unfilled hours, and spent them chatting with his fans online. He’d heard of a new show out in the U.S. that was making waves, “Jackass,” and wondered if I’d heard of it. Being a teenager, I was the show’s target demographic and had taped hours of it, so I offered to send some episodes to Dean. My mom drove me to the post office and I used my allowance to cover the postage to Australia, and when Dean got it he was completely thrilled and profusely grateful. After he got out of the hospital, he sent the tape around to a bunch of his friends, who were also thrilled by it.

A few weeks later, a package arrived for me that contained a letter from Dean, every Magic Dirt album I couldn’t find (some on vinyl), Magic Dirt posters, a Magic Dirt t-shirt, and a mix tape Dean had made just for me. I was beside myself. For the next couple of years, we sent each other packages – we made each other t-shirts and mix tapes, and we’d swap Australian/American music magazines and candy. I shudder to think what I possibly put on mix tapes for him at that point in my life, but his mix tapes were a major part of my musical education, and included the first Dinosaur Jr. and Kyuss songs I’d ever heard. He even wore a t-shirt I made him onstage once, that read “BEAR SUIT” in rhinestones, regarding a long-running gag with fans. The most amazing part to me was that he truly seemed as excited to receive my packages as I was to receive his!

The years went on, I turned 18 and moved to New York City and began working, and Dean got married and had two kids and Magic Dirt continued at a frantic pace, and we fell out of touch. Occasionally I’d still check in on their message board and receive an enthusiastic greeting from him, just as he did with so many other fans. So when I read the John Hughes tribute a few weeks ago, I was warmly reminded of what a special experience I’d had with Dean. As it turns out, Dean was very sick at that point with an extremely rare form of deep tissue cancer that he had been battling quietly and privately for nine years (thinking back, I realize his foot operation may have been the beginning of that, though with Dean’s stoicism, I have no clue if that’s accurate). Last weekend, I learned that Dean had lost his battle and had passed away at the age of 37. It does not feel real.

Dean and I never got to meet each other, and I never got to see Magic Dirt live so I never saw him playing bass barefoot, weight on his arches with the outsides of his feet sticking up, in person. But Dean and his music are two of the most influential presences I’ve had in my life. His experience with the music industry influenced my entire career path. He is what brought me to one of my greatest friendships, with aforementioned manager James. And his kindness, generosity and enthusiasm made me realize, at a formative age, how simple it is to treat people well. I know those are the traits that drew his wife to him, and that his two young daughters will grow up to embody those traits.In the past week I realized they may get to know their sweet Papa the way I did – through his music, the music he loved, the things he wrote, the things people wrote about him, and through the things he left behind. I just hope they don’t find the “Jackass” tapes until they’re a bit older.

A few of my favorite Deano and Magic Dirt moments:

I finally had the chance to see them at the Fox Theater in Oakland on August 2nd, and IT WAS PERFECTION. Having spent the day totally nauseous in anticipation and excitement, I almost blew chunks as I totally left my body and my 14-year-old self saw me from above, uttering the words “I’m on Sonic Youth’s list” to the woman at the box office. I mean, HOLY FUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKKK. A series of delightful things happened, the first of which was somehow finding a spot on the floor behind an entire section of people shorter than I am. Being around people shorter than I am has only ever happened in two situations: when I lived in Mexico, and whenever I’m around children under the age of about 10. Seeing the stage perfectly FROM THE FLOOR? Unheard of for this tinysaurus! Next, I was ordering a drink and accidentally winked at the bartender because I got some shit in my contact, and he thought I was hitting on him and he gave me a SUPER-boozy drink and undercharged me (will try this again everywhere I go).

Then they came on. Oh my motherfucking balls.

Lights by my brilliant and accommodating and life-long-dream-realizer, Dan:

(source, I was too busy trying not to yak to remember my camera, FML)

Her Highness, Kim Gordon:

(source)

His Tallness, Thurston Moore:

(source)

Mark motherfucking Ibold from Pavement (new bestie)

(source)

Fucksocks, limited awesome photos on Flickr. Next time I’ll take Prilosec for 2 weeks leading up to it so I remember my goddamn camera instead of remembering not to vom.

Setlist:

Tom Violence
No Way
Sacred Trickster
Calming the Snake
Hey Joni
Anti-Orgasm (in which Dan wrote out each letter for “ORGASM” flashing one after another on LED panels, totes genius)
Walkin Blue
Poison Arrow
Malibu Gas Station
Antenna
Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso)
Massage History
Stereo Sanctity
Encore:
What We Know
Shadow of a Doubt
Encore 2:
The Sprawl
‘Cross the Breeze

Sweet fucking tits, I think I saw Allah by the end of it!

Afterwards, Marc (my +1, who drove back up to the Bay from Santa Barbara that day and went to Neverland to pay his respects on the way. That’s the only way my day could have possibly been even more overwhelming!) and I went back to the dressing room, where I stood back-to-back with both Kim and Thurston at various points and was WAY too nervous to speak or even look at them directly (maybe I should make them each a mix tape! Oh wait….). But Marc did strike up a conversation with Mark Ibold, who I also was too nervous to speak to (HE WAS IN MOTHERFUCKING PAVEMENT, OH MY FUCKING GOD) but managed to squeak out a few utterances and giggle excitedly in his direction. He was so incredibly friendly and jubilant, it was an absolute delight. After that, Marc and I made our way to BART, our ears still ringing. A landmark night, and nary a drop of vomit was ever spilled!

Also, I love going to shows at the Fox. The venue is beyond beautiful and well-designed, the staff is always SO nice (the bew elderly gentleman who took my ticket told me he loved my bag and my style! I was having a fat/ugly/clothing crisis day until then!), the sound is top notch, and it’s just a pleasant experience each time. You get to have these dudes looming over you, blessing your evening:

(source)

(Note: this would have been posted a couple of weeks ago, but I went to visit my parents the next day and their internet connection is powered by hamsters running on wheels, FML)

So first you fucked the nanny. That was pretty low, for a number of reasons. You were engaged at the time. You manipulated the young nanny and were pretty smarmy about it. That was about all I needed to officially change teams.

But now, Jude. Now you’ve gone and gotten another woman pregnant. A woman who you totally cut down in your rep’s official statement about the situation, along with the baby-to-come.

“Jude Law can confirm that, following a relationship last year, he has been advised that he is to be the father of a child due in the fall of this year. Mr Law is no longer in a relationship with the individual concerned but he intends to be a fully supportive part of the child’s life. This is an entirely private matter and no other statements will be made.”

Translation: “D-BOAT can confirm that, following a one-night stand in which he seduced an unwitting woman into sleeping with him before unceremoniously leaving before she got up the next morning, he has been advised that his continued ignorance of the existence of condoms has resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. First he shit bricks, then he demanded a DNA test, all while frantically trying to remember which skirt this one was. When the results of the test came out confirming he’s the baby daddy, he shit bricks again, then had to tell his other 3 kids, then had to pony up and hash out a financial agreement with a bunch of lawyers. He really fucked this one up and he’s begging the press to never bring it up again, as signing a check every month to send to the little fucker is stressing him out enough already.”

And! In the same week, Jude punched and slapped a female photographer. Sounds like charges will be brought against him for it. I think paparazzi are full of shit, they create dangerous situations, and there should indeed be laws prohibiting a lot of what they do now. But there is NEVER a reason for any of them to be attacked, and it is NEVER acceptable for a man to hit a woman. This further proves Jude Law’s high esteem for women!

Keep it classy, D-BOAT! And for fuck’s sake, get a lifetime supply of these already!

HAHAHAH this guy is wearing a fucking condom costume, look at him!

Obvs we’ve all seen Jude Law’s twig and berries and we know he doesn’t need king-sized, except maybe to fit ALL OF HIS STD’S.

It’s beyond me why I didn’t immediately go see this movie a year ago when it was recommended to me by It’s Lucas, Bitch! I saw it last week at my amazing local second-run theater, the Red Vic, and have thought of little else since then and bought it in order to repent for my sin of not having seen it earlier. Much like you will have to do if you are not watching it right now.

“The Fall” took 10 motherfucking years to make, and was shot in 26 locations and 18 countries. There is NOTHING that I have been doing for 10 years. I mean….breathing? Getting my period every month? But nothing that I have to do on purpose or really think about. The young actress who plays Alexandria was 8 when it was filmed and is now 19. That just amazes me.

Here is the formula for “The Fall”:

Unbelievable, unprecedented visuals:

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A captivating, heartbreaking, hilarious, beautifully written story:

“Languishing in a hospital, Roy Walker (Lee Pace) is a broken man in more ways than one. Unable to walk after a fall from a horse in a movie stunt gone wrong, his heart is also broken after his girlfriend ran off with the movie’s leading man. Ready to end his life, Roy befriends five-year-old fellow patient Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), with the goal of persuading her to steal a fatal dose of morphine pills for him.

Roy launches into a story that fuses patients, staff and others at the hospital with imagined personas and exotic lands. What he describes as an “epic tale of love and revenge” is so riveting to Alexandria that she will do whatever Roy asks in order to hear the next installment. The tale loosely mirrors the ill-fated love triangle that has left him heartsick and features Alexandria’s favorite nurse Evelyn (Justine Waddell), as the beautiful Princess Evelyn; Sinclair (Daniel Caltagirone), the movie star who stole Roy’s girlfriend, as the detested Governor Odious, and Roy himself as the avenging Black Bandit who leads the attack on the governor with the help of a colorful posse that includes Alexandria as the Black Bandit’s daughter.

But the story takes a darker turn. Alexandria begins to realize there is far more at stake than the fate of a handful of imaginary characters. It’s up to Roy whether the Black Bandit — and Roy himself — will survive the climactic final scene” – http://www.thefallthemovie.com/

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The incredibly subtle, nuanced performances of Lee Pace and the riveting ingenue, Catinca Untaru:

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Tarsem Singh at the helm, the innovative director responsible for the non-shitty parts of “The Cell,” as well as the music video for “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. and one of my favorite videos of all time (I’m not joking, it’s seriously good), “Hold On” by En Vogue.

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My favorite movie I’ve seen in years.

Watch the trailer, get a boner, then rent or buy it right now!