Monday, April 30, 2012

School Daze

And speaking of Homeland, just how cute is Morena Baccarin, the Brazilian-born actress that plays opposite Damian Lewis?  You can see her here, second from the right, just next to Clare Danes (who once squired Ben Lee- of whom more next month).  I'm a total sucker for that haircut. Yowzah.

It partly explains (though only partly) my affection for School of Seven Bells.  This shoegaze-esque group, nominally a duo, though usually augmented by additional musicians (in particular Allie Alvarado aka Painted Face), features the winsome Alejandra Deheza on vocals, and she bears a marked resemblance to the aforementioned Homeland actress.  Of course, that's merely a nice bonus.  Even if she looked like Hylda Baker (or even Arthur Baker), I'd still be greatly attracted to the SVIIB sound.  If you've ever wondered what Slowdive would have sounded like if they'd come from Williamsburg rather than Reading-- hey, who hasn't?-- I imagine they'd have sounded a lot like this.  The new single The Night is out next week, and you can hear them performing it on the Jimmy Fallon Show below.


Dick Institute

The new that Dick Clark died last week wasn't a big deal on this side of the Atlantic.  It was a big deal in the US, however, because of Clark's long-standing association with American Bandstand.  This little piece details some of the highlights (and lowlights) of his long career, including interviews and performances from the likes of Madonna,  Devo, Run DMC, The Beach Boys and more.  However, it's mostly of interest for an absolutely jaw-dropping 10 minutes of Clark trying to corral a recalcitrant Metal Box-era Public Image Ltd.  Even though it's over 30 years old, it's as much must-see TV as this week's episode of Homeland.


Test Department

A great piece by St. Etienne's Bob Stanley on a British institution.