Check out the interview here.

The colors are evidently fall-oriented with browns, olive greens and some elements of black, and elongated boots in dark, wine colors or calf-boots in black. Overall, he manages to communicate the message very effectively and cohesively in this collection. It does not miss a single step, even when he goes from ensembles to full dresses that still have the same vaporous air of his last collection.  As usual, he presents his models in an environment that ends up being irrelevant because his designs overwhelm the audience. We can’t help but drift away in his incredible cuts.

I loved 12 out of the 46 looks from the show.  To begin, he opened with the preview of what we can expect for the rest of the show: long boots with a beautifully tailored transparent dress covered by a cape-trench coat and a hat. The colors combine in a flawless symphony, even adorned by the ponytail of the model.

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He presents another option in a lighter color, following the same trend but adding shorter boots and his now trademark leggings, accompanied with the over-sized bag and accents of fur.

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In my third choice, notice how he tailors the jacket around the waist and decreases the shoulders, this is perfect for my “bigger” girls (who think they cannot wear designer). The short ruffled skirt goes perfect with the season’s trend and the long boots help make anyone’s legs look longer.

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From the fourth look I want to emphasize the bag. Black, over-sized, with metal accents, it goes well basically with any outfit to work or to go out (unless you go for the clutch).

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I personally think the fifth look (Picture 5) goes on to show that just because it is “over-sized” it does not mean the silhouette is lost. Here he uses a dress and a very well-cut sweater to show a very stylish one, polished by the beautiful shoes.

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The sixth ensemble goes great with any body type because it incorporates a very fashionable bag that draws the attention to the legs. The short dress enhances short legs and the waist on the jacket finishes the “slimming” process.

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Next comes a very detailed dress. Notice the draping around the chest, near the shoulder, close to the left hip. The shoes and the bag just finish a look that is a bit less “equestrian” but still gorgeous.

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His Burberry-inspired trench coat lies over a pair of gray pants in a very bright and rich shade that we usually don’t see, combined with those leg warmers that were supposed to be a trend a couple of years ago. He includes  a smaller bag to allow the ensemble to work.

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For his next look, he does not even include a bag. The dress itself is composed by a black fabric with many details in the bottom half, that concludes in beautiful laced shoes. Note that this silhouette is extremely hard to pull off, only recommended if you are confident enough…

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He continues with the long dresses and matching jackets. For this look I’d like to mention the necklace. In this collection, we see a lot of gorgeous necklaces, as well as long earrings, instead of those big bracelets Louis Vuitton and others have been putting out.

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The last two looks, an enchanted translucent princess with multi-layered necklaces and long boots shows confidence in cream and pearls, while the my last choice, in olive green and with a jacket adorned by fur, simply owns the show.

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Image via Style.com

Now, I understand a lot of people hate fur and Galliano did include it in a couple of looks. Whether I am pro or against fur use is irrelevant. The reality is that fur is used and as long as it is used, like Anna Wintour once said, I will be reporting on it.

Let’s begin with the dark green shorts. Been there done that… including the high heels that look more Payless than Saks.  Additionally, the hair just seems ridiculous, and the fur coat is lovely yet unnecessary.

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A horrendous green (like a Christmas tree) covers the poor model like a robe. It kills the silhouette and  the clutch is just ludicrous!  Who would wear that color?

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The “Marc Jacobs“ wannabe shorts are accessorized by a simple top (that you may even find in Target) and again, the hideous hair!

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A small dress that reminds of the Resort 2010 collections (most of them…) goes on to show that a piece of fabric can be sold for thousands of dollars, without even putting much work on it.

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Pants, top, shoes… such a disgrace! This looks worse than Juicy Couture.

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The one arm-high-shoulder-still-copying-Marc-Jacobs makes me sick. The hair, still horrendous. I just don’t find anything appealing to it. And don’t get me started on the red and white blazer, it’s beyond belief… Who would wear this?

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Image via Style.com

The only ensemble I would rescue is the white dress with red clutch and shoes. They are a perfect combo. But, it does not look couture. It looks Forever 21. However, it works, and even someone who is not super skinny could go for it.

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The runway closed with a couple of red dramatic dresses. Almost Valentino but not quite there.

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Overall, a big disappointment…

Brushfire Records 2010

Rating: 8/10

“Will you be the bed for me when they set the world on fire / just to see it burn?” frontman Zach Schwartz asks on “Solitary Gun,” the opening song off Rogue Wave’s deliciously bouncy new record Permalight. For a band that has been through some of the hells Rogue Wave have suffered over the past few years, including the death of a former bandmate and one member’s struggle with kidney failure, “Solitary Gun” is an unexpected shot in the arm, a booster of unbridled joy and money hooks that belie the song’s apocalyptic images. Indeed, “Solitary Gun” is a most unlikely anthem, one that sets the tone for the rest of Permalight as a bright, buoyant beacon of hope.

Viewed through the context of the band’s three-year hiatus and the tragedies the members’ themselves have suffered, one would be forgiven for thinking that Permalight would be a dirge of a record, one mired in weepy indie pop and bent on exorcising the ghosts of its past. But while it does exorcise those ghosts, it does it in the most defiant way possible, through bubbling synths and lyrics about love machines like on the obscenely catchy “Good Morning (The Future),” or via quietly surging lullabies like the beautifully glacial “Sleepwalker.” Gone are the dreamy guitar-pop of their past and the constant Shins references - Rogue Wave have embraced electro to buff up their strikingly powerful guitar hooks, and rather than lose themselves in a fad they assimilate it flawlessly, as one listen to single “Good Morning (The Future)” quickly proves.

That’s not to say that the folksy heart of Schwartz’s songwriting has been subverted by mindless hooks; rather, the electronic additions to songs like the gently swelling “Fear Itself” and the jittery hooks of “Stars and Stripes” inject a whole new kind of life into the proceedings. But at the heart of it all is Schwartz’s relentlessly heartening songwriting, which floats from effortless pop-rock to whispery ballads with the same ease and, more importantly, the same strength, both lyrically and musically. It’s the way the gutsy bass line and ragged guitar slowly build to a hammering chorus on “Right With You,” the way “I’ll Never Leave You” somehow turns one of the more clichéd sentiments in rock ‘n roll into a heartrending promise with just a shaker, handclaps, and some beautiful harmonies, the way that every song here just seems overwhelmed with joy. It’s hard to describe the perfect hook with words, but suffice it to say that nearly every song here has that sublime ability to punch one right in the aural stomach, the place directly attached to your foot-tapping and singing-in-the-shower nerves.

This isn’t a perfect record, as made evident by the annoyingly repetitive title track or the way things sort of tail off by the last two songs, but it’s leagues ahead of your average indie pop album, and it’s certainly Rogue Wave’s best effort yet. Their ability to turn what would have wrecked many bands into an unfettered success is Permalight’s biggest triumph, and the listening experience is just as enticing a treat for the listener. More than anything else, though, Permalight stands out as a life-affirming testament to the human spirit, a collection of songs that come off as just so incredibly happy, so goddamn upbeat, that it’s impossible not to fall in love with it, with everything.

They say his inspiration was Lady Gaga, or Isabella Blow before her passing away, but the truth is that regardless of whomever was by his side, his tremendous imagination would have still sprouted the designs that put him on top of everyone’s rank. No wonder Gucci bought the label but allowed him to have complete freedom on how he presented his clothing line and different collections.

Surfing around the net I found excellent retrospectives about his work, but I’d rather focus on his latest Spring-Summer 2010 collection, mind-blowing, energetic, pure heart and soul embedded in a futuristic shade. No wonder Lady Gaga showcased his masterpieces in the Bad Romance video.

He showed a silhouette that focused on androgyny, but still let the femininity of curves and legs in. Only someone like him could do so. In the picture below, an amazing dress with impressive shoulders that end in a long vaporous sleeve, rounding a very tight figure around the waist, that then breaks into the hips and ends in short pants. His impressive high shoes, also by his inspiration, complete the compelling look.

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The use of fabrics in floral prints for spring is boring. McQueen destroys that image with flowers that fade away in one side of his mini dress, that accentuates the hips and is extremely short (as clothes in the 2010 should be worn). Again, in expressive shoes he completes the golden accents of the flowers.

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Another look I loved was the feathered skirt. The lower part of this look  is comprised of feathers in whites, wines and blues, that matches (chaotically) with the top of oranges, goldens and yellows. To complete the look, his huge shoes with metallic embeddings make this look a winner. Notice how perfectly it blends, regardless of the mix that in other situations would look (let’s be honest) awful.

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I loves the blue hues in this picture. In Gaga’s video, they appear in white when she emerges from a bathtub. Here, he blends them with a mini-dress, topped by a gray bolero with longer than expected sleeves. The accent of the tail in the dress makes this look more centered in the waist and shows longer legs. Believe it or not, this would make a “big” girl look extremely pretty! It hides what it must and it shows what it should.

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The exaggerated figures in the next image is just a test of his craftsmanship. Notice the oversized shoulders that again allow us to focus on the waist, from where barely the topmost part of the legs is covered by this incredible mix of purples, whites and blues. The shoes, again, make the look (though it is very hard to walk on them).

Image via Style.com

My favorite look is the last one. See the oversized elbows (mocking, precisely, the trend of the oversized shoulders). He gets the same effect on the waist, to then convert it in a disproportional hip to very skinny legs. He downplays the silhouette until it reaches the amazing shoes. This is why he was a genius. He made art, not like Ralph Lauren, or Hilfiger, or even Calvin Klein. This man knew how to do it.

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RIP. McQueen.

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THEPOPFIX: How did you guys all meet?

TYLER: Justin is my brother and due to heavy influence from our father, we grew up playing music together. I met Brent in high school through mutual friends and the three of us (Brent, Justin, and I), started up a band and played together for about 7 years. After awhile, things ended up not working out and that band broke up. I was at a party one day about 3 years ago and met Jeff. We started talking about music that we liked and the alcohol that we also enjoyed so we decided to meet up and jam a bit. I had mentioned to him that I knew a drummer and that my brother who played lead guitar was moving back from LA and looking for a band. So we had the 4 pieces together, but it didn’t seem complete. We knew we wanted a piano player in our band. Justin and I had known Sean since we were kids because our parents were best friends. We knew he had been classically trained as a pianist and I thought that would crossover well with the type of music we were trying create, so we asked him to be apart of Northern Son. So, in a nutshell, that is basically how we all came together to form this band.

THEPOPFIX: Who are your musical influences?

TYLER: One of the things I love about this band is how diverse each of our influences are. For me I love 90’s rock like Third Eye Blind and Oasis. Jeff is heavily influenced by classic rock and folk such as Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. Brent is influenced by progressive drum beats and instrumentals. Justin has a big pop and R & B influence and Sean has a classical and hip hop influence. But I think when we come together we all embrace each others styles and make it work. We all really love classic rock and lot so you can definitely hear that peak through in our sound. I think we all influence each other with all the music we listen to. As Jeff pointed out in a recent interview, we are big fans of great songwriting.

THEPOPFIX: What’s next for you guys?

TYLER: We have a lot of great things in the works right now. We are playing a HUGE show at USC in Los Angeles at the amazing Ground Zero cafe on Friday, Feb 26. We are really looking forward to getting back down to LA. We always have a great time and people are always very nice to us. We have also just released our first music video for “Love Will Find A Way” the single of our debut record “Wider Skies” (available on itunes) which was shot by a great company called Element 151 out of San Jose. In the mean time we are playing local in the bay area, mostly San Francisco, but look for us by the end of summer/fall for a Northern Son tour coming to your town.

Love Will Find A Way from Northern Son on Vimeo.

THEPOPFIX: What’s the significance of the name Northern Son?

TYLER: Northern Son is just a really honest, maybe even boring, band name. It has no hidden meaning and just flat out means being a product of Northern California. We’re from San Jose, California and are all males so Northern Son is what we came up with and have gotten used to hearing.

THEPOPFIX: What do you guys do when you’re not playing shows, practicing, recording?

TYLER: What do we do when we’re not doing anything band related? Thats hard to say because usually every day we are doing something band related. We are all best friends so we’re always with each other. We’ve gotten really in to the HBO show The Life and Times of Tim and are excited for the new season to start. We try to go out and meet up with friends a couple of times a week and just do normal boring stuff. We’re not too exciting off the stage.

Don’t forget to catch Northern Son Feb. 26th at Ground Zero at 6:30 PM.

Cash Money 2010

Rating: 1/10

There’s a scene in the 2009 documentary The Carter where the film’s main subject, Lil Wayne, fresh off a cough syrup-fueled, barely coherent recording session, tells the interviewer just how he wants to become king of the music world:

“To be an ultimate artist, I believe you have to be like me, I try to do everything . . . when you be lookin’ for a Lil Wayne album, you gonna be lookin’ for the best rap, the best singin’, the best songs . . . full of music, I want you to look for that, not just what you look for now . . . I’m re-creating the face of music period . . . that’s how I want to be, I do everything good.”

Throughout much of the documentary, Lil Wayne is incredibly hard to understand, but here the directive is painfully clear. It’s the kind of hubris that allows an album like Rebirth to get made, the kind of egomania that causes studio heads to shut their mouths and let the pint-sized New Orleans rapper try to branch out like an overzealous marketer. The Carter shows a man oblivious to the opinions of those around him and confident only in that he is the best there is, wherever, whenever, in whatever. Likewise, Rebirth is the kind of album only the painfully oblivious could make.

His so-called “rock” album, it’s clear right off the bat that Lil Wayne is not only deluding himself from everyday reality but also from what constitutes rock ‘n roll, at least in this day and age. From the hilariously ’80s, Guitar Hero-esque solo intro of opener “American Star” to the obscenely grating breakup anthem “The Price Is Wrong,” everything here points to Rebirth as a colossal fuckup of the highest order, a misjudgment of talent and ideas that any label exec not blinded by Tha Carter III’s huge sales should have vetoed within seconds. Listening to the entire twelve tracks, it’s nearly impossible to see just how Wayne okayed this; then again, this is the same man who declared that, if he was President, he would “make prostitution legal in about five more states [and] put cocaine back in Coca-Cola,” among many other revolutionary changes.

The rapping, the hilariously generic instruments and beats, the “singing;” everything here speaks to a man with only the vaguest idea of how rock ‘n roll really works. Going from an Auto-Tuned, maniacal version of Billy Corgan to his typically unintelligible Louisiana patois, Wayne runs the gamut from pimping drugs to pimping women to moaning over heartbreak to celebrating the rock star lifestyle with the same general speed and fury, shifting only a few degrees in tone over the course of the album and essentially making every vocal performance he puts down sound eerily the same. Needless to say, Wayne’s vocals are hardly suitable for singing; listening to him moan out “oh no this ain’t paradise” and squeal out his best pained Nickelback imitation on “Paradice” or try out nu-metal on “Ground Zero” is an exercise in grueling, herculean patience.

Even discounting Wayne himself, there’s precious little to like here, largely due to the producers’ insistence to make every track sound as bombastic and outsized as Creed on a stadium tour with absolutely zero attention to subtlety of any kind. Every guitar here screams out vulgar solos, the drums seem miked for an arena regardless of the song, and the unvarying verse-chorus-verse chorus would make Puddle of Mudd cringe in shame. Even the tracks that are mildly listenable succeed simply because Wayne stays away: Eminem’s ace guest spot on “Drop The World” saves a forgettable song, and “Knockout” is easily the most enjoyable song on the album thanks to Nicki Minaj and not Wayne singing the majority of the verses. Or maybe it’s just because the tune rips its riff right off blink-182’s “Dammit.” Hell, I’ll take what I can get.

Perhaps the most telling line in The Carter comes near the three-quarter mark, when Lil Wayne, in response to a question about the explicit nature of some of his songs, remarks, “I don’t care about no one’s thoughts, no one’s thoughts matter to me, at all.” It’s the purest definition of Lil Wayne himself, an enigma who drowns himself in cough syrup but retains the ability to memorize all of his many songs without a single notebook and recreate them flawlessly. In a way, Rebirth is a tragic album for a soon-to-be-tragic figure; now that Lil Wayne is facing numerous drug and weapon charges from the past two years, he will soon have to take responsibility for his increasingly reckless actions. Now if only the music industry could stand up and have him take responsibility for this abortion of a record, there might be some real justice in the world.