Tunes Tuesday: "Congratulations," MGMT

So MGMT makes an album full of catchy, crowd-pleasing electro-pop songs. Said album brings them international fame, sold-out concerts and a boatload of cash. How do they follow it up?

By putting out a spacey, self-proclaimed "no-singles" album devoid of any obvious hooks.

You gotta love the "eff you" spirit of that. Is that a really rock and roll move - just creating what you want to create, without worrying about focus groups or what came before? I have to think so.

And the fans that follow them off the psychedelic cliff are left to parse song lyrics like "It's hardly a sink or swim, when all is well if the ticket sells," as heard in "Congratulations," a slacker-pretty track that really grew on me. Maybe it turns out that the rock star dream doesn't end in choking on one's own vomit, like in "Time to Pretend." Maybe the denouement is fake friends and "someone to make reports/ That tell me how my money's spent/ To book my stays and draw my blinds/ So I can't see what's really there."

Of course, musicians complaining about fame is highly annoying (see: Drake), but I like that MGMT backed up their argument by making the album they wanted to make. The one that might kick them out of the mainstream for good.

PS - this is a soaring remix of "It's Working" by Air.

Fake Ink

In my last post, I mentioned Tria, the fun wine bar that Debie and I went to in Philadelphia thanks to a recommendation from our friend Kate. While we ate, we noticed that a bunch of the staff had identical "Riesling" tattoos on their forearms. What's the deal with that, we wondered. Did they really like Riesling that much? There's commitment for you.

They were temporary, of course. The manager gave me one after I inquired. Debie said I should put the tattoo on my forehead, or maybe on my neck. A "Riesling" neck tattoo. That's gotta be the yuppiest neck tattoo ever.

I stayed true to my conservative nature and just went for the fake wrist tattoo. I dipped my napkin in my water and applied the tattoo at the table. Classy. When I came back from the bathroom, a waiter had carefully folded up my soaked, crumpled napkin for me. Now that is service.

The manager kindly posed with me for a snapshot. I've joined the Riesling cult.

Two days in, and the "N" and "G" had already rubbed off. All last week, I wondered around with a "Riesli" tattoo. A lot of people thought it was the real thing! It looks very real. I'm getting used to the idea of having a tattoo now. I like the typeface and location. Hmm... Could I take the plunge?

The fact that it is so permanent is still scary. Maybe I'll just wear the same temporary tattoo in the same spot and constantly reapply until I'm 40.

Today, it just says "Riesl." That could be a name, if you were German maybe. So it's been a week with the temporary tattoo. I am going to see how long I can keep this going.

Purse Twin

Debie and I met up halfway this weekend in Philadelphia. It was a day trip totally on a whim. We each thought the other was planning the itinerary. Whoops! But it turned out to be just right. We both took Megabus from our respective cities, then went and stood in line for cheesesteak and peeked in the window at the Liberty Bell (the line was way too long, ok?). Thus concluded the cultural aspect of our tour, and we marched onwards, partaking in gelato-eating, shopping in Rittenhouse Square and a fun, leisurely dinner at Tria, a fancy but not at all snooty wine bar.

Debie had tweeted about the Philly day trip, and the Philadelphia tourism office dutifully tweeted her back on Monday, asking "How was your trip?"

I said she should write that we spent money and contributed to their economy. Ha.

This is the new purse I bought at South Moon Under in Philadelphia. I love everything at South Moon Under. They do a great job of stocking cute, affordable items. Back to the purse - look at those black and white stripes, and poppy colors. It was the only one like it in the store. How could I not take it home with me? My problem is that I am always drawn to crazy things like this, and then everything I own is crazy and I have no white t-shirts.

So I got the purse on Saturday and wore it for the first time on Tuesday. Guess what I saw in the Metro today?

I know this purse was mass-produced in China, but still, small world. This girl actually exited at the same stop as me. Maybe she is my doppelganger. Or evil twin. Sorry for taking photos of you on the Metro, evil twin. But I think I'm going to win the "Who Wore It Better" contest. Though I might wear it with jhorts too.

Tunes Tuesday: "Call Your Boyfriend," Robyn

Hey, Lady Gaga? While you've been wedging yourself into a giant egg, parading around in a hamburger dress and singing about being as free as your hair, little ol' Robyn is stealing your claim to today's best top-40 synth pop. Example: this single-take video for "Call Your Girlfriend," a breakup dance track with lyrics from the point of view of both the woman scorned and the other woman.

I know this I'm late to the party here since this song was released in 2010, but it should be a radio hit today. C'mon America, let's make it happen! Robyn is more than talented enough to take some of Gaga/Rihanna/Katy Perry's cash.

At first I thought the best Robyn song was "Cry When You Get Older." Then I switched my allegiance to "Dancing On My Own." Thirty listens to "Call Your Girlfriend," and I'm sure that this is the one. All of these songs combine the perfect ratio of earworm melody, thoughtfully heartbroken lyrics and beats with just the right amount of sing-along pop cheese.

And going along with last week's Lollapalooza post, here's a shuffling take on the song by a band I was lucky enough to see at the festival, Noah and The Whale. Although they've changed it to "Call Your Boyfriend." I think it's cooler when musicians covering songs play the gender pronouns as they lay. Don't you think?

Makeshift Jewelry Storage - DIY

In my old apartment, my room was obviously slapped on the back of the house, at an angle at that. A pencil rolled right off my desk, and I had to put risers on only one half of the bed to avoid hideous back problems. There was a window into the kitchen and another window that had been painted over.

Two years in, I figured out a use for this useless window.

Just added a couple spring-loaded curtain rods, so my jewelry could be on display.

Not bad, eh?

I don't like the effect as much here in the new place, but it's still useful. The curtain rods fit nicely in a small corner of my bedroom. I'm scared to nail holes in the pristine walls here, but one or two won't hurt, right? It might be cool to wrap the curtain rods in ribbon, maybe I will try that to make it look a little prettier.