The Fader

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Ed Droste is a concord chameleon.(Talk Talk)(Letter to the editor)
David Byrne is at the point in his career where he can do whatever he wants. And what he wants to do is ride his bike all over town, perform in a tutu, collaborate with Dirty Projectors and buy pean . . .

Editors letter.(Editorial)
Whether it's due to an astrological shift, under-stimulation or seasonal mood disorder, many folks around these parts have decided recently that the summer of 2009 needs to be the "Summer of Love." . . .

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Drug denizens: Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe move into their black acid co-op.(NWS PRNT)
*Of all the decrepit nooks and crannies in Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe's Black Acid Co-Op, the charred remains of a trailer blackened from the inside out might just be the scariest corner of them . . .

Into the light: the warm wisdom of Francis Ford Coppola.(NWS PRNT)(Interview)
* In an interview from 1991, Francis Ford Coppola anticipated a populist rise of Handycam filmed masterpieces from a "fat girl in Ohio" that would destroy the business of movies and return cinema to . . .

Come together: dead weather and the dark fate of the Supergroup.(NWS PRNT)(Brief article)
*We were surprised that Dead Weather's album, Horehound, is good. Not that it shouldn't be--the group joins brute forces Allison Mosshart of The Kills and Jack White of The White Stripes, plus two o . . .

American Cyclo: the good humor and relentless principles of bike snob NYC.(NWS PRNT)(anonymous blogger)
* Before meeting up with the anonymous author of Bike Snob NYC--a hilariously sassy blog dedicated to the city's cycling foibles and faux pas--I stopped to note the bike lane traffic on Fourth Stree . . .

An American man; the ageless taste of Michael Williams and a continuous lean.(STYLE)
* Michael Williams knows what he is talking about. The Ohio native's website A Continuous Lean--whose name derives from a nautical term for a list--is a catchall for all things men's style. The site . . .

Lacoste.(STYLE)(Lacoste crocodile logo)(Brief article)
* The time-honored Lacoste alligator conjures stoic images of French class and sophistication, perhaps 1920s Coco Chanel types daintily lobbing tennis balls in gauzy dresses. But when Lacoste creati . . .

Mister Mort.(STYLE)
* Created by Mister Mort (tweed enthusiast, street style snapper) and Baron Von Fancy (utter anomaly), these wilder-life suspenders were inspired by something shockingly straightforward--a trip to t . . .

Apolis Activism.(STYLE)(clothing line)(Brief article)
* "My brothers and I grew up surfing in Santa Barbara," says Shea Parton, brand director for the California-based menswear line Apolis Activism. "Our dad gave us our first pair of Katin board shorts . . .

Jenny Wilson's rhythm and blues.(OH MY WORD)
Norwegian television show recently took jenny Wilson to a carpentry studio to film her performing "Wooden Chair," the first single from her new album, Hardships. To approximate the album's heaps of . . .

Esser pops and preens.(TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW)(Ben Esser)
At first sight, Ben Esser seems like some anachronistic type of rockstar, nattily clad in plaid ska pants or suspenders and an unbeatable mod-top fade--a little bit Specials with some wayward art du . . .

Foreign born take it outside.(SUNBAKED)(rock band Foreign Born)
Last summer, the four members of Foreign Born slipped into a secluded villa nestled somewhere in the Hollywood Hills, replete with panoramic view, porch and Jacuzzi. Between hot soaks and watching M . . .

D-Lo and Sleepy D graze the bay pavement.(TURK AND JERK)(independent musicians)
One hot spring day in East Oakland, a crew of folks from around the way engage in a street battle. They're all rambunctious, whipping water balloons at each other and laughing, but two shirtless dre . . .

CFCF's quest for pure pop.(PRESENT TENSE)(Mike Silver)
Mike Silver used to constantly hunch over a computer in his parents' house in Montreal, making music and brushing off his dad's worries that too much time in front of the screen would melt his brain . . .

Omega is heavy.(BOMBA DE MAMBO)
The dark king of Dominican mambo likes sleeveless shirts, necklaces as thick as high-voltage power cables and fitted jeans tucked into his cowboy boots. Antonio Peter de la Rosa, aka Ornega "El Fuer . . .

Major Lazer and Mad Decent blow out the block.(RADIO KILLERS)
Diplo owns a gun. He says so while peppering a clerk with questions about a very Rambo-esque semi-automatic at a gun store in Philadelphia. His gun, used for hunting with his family, is in Florida, . . .

Dum dum girls braves crocodiles, waves and naked family time on an epic California road trip.(HIGH FIVE)(Personal account)
Since petrol prices are back on the rise and driving a car seems less cool than ever, we decided to send one of our favorite new artists and a trusted photographer on a road trip the length of Calif . . .

Heat.(men's and women's wear)(Brief article)
LEFT: VEST BY LUCKY BRAND, JEANS BY CHEAP MONDAY, HAT BY MAKINS, SUNGLASSES BY DSOUARED2, CUFF BY ODD & EVEN. RIGHT: BIKINI BY ROSA CHA, CARDIGAN BY JUST CAVALLI, NECKLACE BY ALEXIS BITTAR. [ILLUS . . .

Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian".(VINYL ARCHEOLOGY)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian" (Todd Terje Edit) (white label 2009) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Todd Terje is one of the great Scandanavian disco-house producer/DJs. Like Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, . . .

Fleetwood Mac "Keep on Going".(VINYL ARCHEOLOGY)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Fleetwood Mac "Keep on Going" (Cosmo Vitelli Edit) (white label 2009) Cosmo V'itell'i is part of a whole gang of French guys who make edits. He's a contributor to alainfinkielkrautrock.com, a blog . . .

James Yuill "This is Sweet Love".(VINYL ARCHEOLOGY)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
James Yuill "This is Sweet Love" (Prins Thomas Sneaky Edit) (Moshi Moshi 2008) James Yuill 'iis a talented English singer/songwriter who just released his debut album Turning Down Water for Air. U . . .

Elvis Presley "Crawfish".(VINYL ARCHEOLOGY)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Elvis Presley "Crawfish" (Pilooski Edit) (D.I.R.T.Y. 2008) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] P'ilooslki's edit of Frankie Vallii's "Beggin"' garnered him crazy amounts of hype--which eventually landed the . . .

Etta James "Down in the Basement".(VINYL ARCHEOLOGY)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Etta James "Down in the Basement" (Theo Parrish Edit) (Ugly Edits 2005) I can't begin to describe how much I love venerated Detroit house D]/producer Theo Parrish's Ugly Edits series. Sadly, there . . .

Arpadys "Funky Bass".(VINYL ARCHEOLOGY)(Sound recording review)(Brief review)
Arpadys "Funky Bass" (Berlinmachine Edit) (white label 2008) Arpadys are a French studio-assembled group featuring cosmic disco pioneer Sauveur Mallia. They were the backbone of almost every disco . . .

Dinosaur Jr. Farm.(MIXTAPE: MUSIC)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Dinosaur Jr. Farm (Jagiaguwar) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Three years ago I saw the reunited Dinosaur Jr. destroy a tiny club in LA. It was packed with 200 J. Mascis clones who'd climbed down from t . . .

Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca.(MIXTAPE: MUSIC)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca (Domino) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The NY Times called Dirty Projectors mastermind Dave Longstreth a "genius." What do I say after that? He's not? Genius is some next le . . .

DJ Quik and Kurupt BlaQKout.(MIXTAPE: MUSIC)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
DJ Quik and Kurupt BlaQKout (Universal) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When did Quik become the perpetual underdog? Probably around the time the Fixxers album leaked. Hopefully this record means well fi . . .

End of days.(REHEATERS)(Bill Graham and the Fillmore)
Toward the end of Fillmore: The Last Days--a documentary about the five-day concert celebrating the 1971 closing of the storied venue--Bill Graham, the Fillmore's owner, gets on the phone with Carlo . . .

Bonus cuts: the last days.(END OF DAYS)
For your own Rlmorei The Lost Days multimedia extravaganza, after you've seen the film, check out these six records from groups who played the venue's closing shows. . . .

Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow.(END OF DAYS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow (RCA 1967) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Surrealistic Pillow is Grace Slicks first record with Jefferson Airplane, ft's also the one with 'White Rabbit," the head . . .

Grateful Dead Live/Dead.(END OF DAYS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Grateful Dead Live/Dead (Warner Bros. 1969) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Watching clips of the Dead play in Fillmore, they seem so grounded, like they wouldn't even be capable of making a 23-minute ex . . .

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage.(END OF DAYS)(Sound recording review)
New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage (Columbia 1971) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the beginning, New Riders were essentially a Grateful Dead offshoot. Their debut features Je . . .

Hot Tuna The Phosphorescent Rat.(END OF DAYS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Hot Tuna The Phosphorescent Rat (RCA 1973) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Phosphorescent Rat represented a huge jump out of Hot Tuna's hippie roots and into modernity. The first album after Jonma Ka . . .

Jorma Kaukonen with Tom Hobson Quah.(END OF DAYS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Jorma Kaukonen with Tom Hobson Quah (Relix 1974) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After adventuring into the future on Phosphorescent, Jorma Kaukonen linked up with semi-obscure roots musician Tom Hobson . . .

Arizona spring thyme.(MIXTAPE: DRANKY DRANKS)(Brief article)
I had to call NYC mixologist Nicolas O'Connor to unpuzzle the Arizona Spring Thyme recipe he invented, because the instructions called for "igniting zest," "edible flowers" and "thyme syrup," which . . .

Hornitos Plata tequila.(MIXTAPE: DRANKY DRANKS)(Brief article)
I'm gonna be totally honest here, I just cooked some ramps--wild, very seasonal sweet onion root type things--and they were killer. I usually eat out/take in, but I was feeling uppity. I sauteed whi . . .

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Yes, we pay in cash and/or mushrooms.(Talk Talk)(Letter to the editor)
Last issue we delved deep into Natasha Khan's world of chakra vibrations and wolf mask hats. As Bat for Lashes, her music is a strange reflection of her unique interests--spirit animals and spray-pa . . .

Celebrities and nerds, that's who.(Talk Talk)(Letter to the editor)
Paper letters to the editor are so old-fashioned that whenever we get them we steam the envelope open, reseal it and pass it around for thrills. But, as a consolation, we can now get readers' immedi . . .

Editor's letter.(Editorial)(Biography)
In the past, we've dedicated this issue to fallen idols--Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Jerry Garcia, Aaliyah--and tried to reshape or recapture what makes them important to our generation. All of which . . .

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Bittersweet: the brief, noble career of Sugar Santos.(NWS PRNT)(Miguel Santos)(Brief article)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Early in the film bearing his name, Miguel "Sugar" Santos trades small town celebrity for a stab at minor league fame and fortune in the US. An exceptional pitching talent . . .

Space invader: Young Sun Han pushes us together.(NWS PRNT)(Interview)
Interview * Artist Young Sun Han's recent work, "24 Hour Embrace," consisted of a 24-hour marathon hug with a 62-year-old man he solicited on Craigslist. Raised in Chicago and currently based in A . . .

Full support: Alexi Wasser is boy crazy.(NWS PRNT)(Interview)
Interview * Alexi Wasser is super into dudes and loves her girlfriends. So in her spare time the LA-based actress started a blog, Imboycrazy. com, where she writes post-post-post-feminist advice a . . .

Street lights: the return of S.M.A.C.K.(NWS PRNT)(Streets, Music, Arts, Culture and Knowledge)
* Launched in 2002 as the brainchild of Jamaica, Queens native Troy "Smack" Mitchell, the loosely biannual S.M.A.C.K. DVD series offered unprecedented access to hip-hop artists in the studio, backst . . .

Ladies first: the practical nobility of women in rural China.(LOOK)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * It's absurd to imagine a land time forgot on a planet so relentlessly folding in on itself like . . .

Flower power: Sabrina DeHoff designs prints with green thumbs.(STYLE)(Brief article)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * In high school Sabrina DeHoff was that chick who always showed up to class in a triumphantly crazy getup. Most kids would have been ripped to shreds, but the jewelry desig . . .

Frequently flyer: Groovey Lew styles hip-hop histories.(STYLE)(Interview)
* For someone who's been shaping hip-hop fashion for the last 15 years, stylist Groovey Lew is an extraordinarily unassuming dude. He doesn't have shiny grills or statement chains, nor does he wear . . .