bright lines » Feminista

Built by Wendy Spring 2010 Picks

nandininessa — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:01:14 +0000

Built by Wendy Spring 2010 collection. Three pieces strike me right away:

Kahlo Dress

Linen Jumper

When it rains...

Daily Rotation: Erykah Badu’s “Window Seat”

nandininessa — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:35:43 +0000

Erykah Badu, in all her glory. Well, part of its fuzzy because of the ho-hum politics of nudity that won’t allow us that access. Or perhaps Miz Badu prefers it that way, and it’s one of those “you kinda had to be there” type moments.

Track # 2 on her new record, New Amerykah, Part II: Return of the Ankh

Brooklyn Bodega #1: Little Dragon Performance Review

nandininessa — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:45:42 +0000

Hi Bright Liners,

I’ve started writing articles for Brooklyn Bodega, a website devoted to exploring Hiphop, art, culture, politics, as well as curating the annual Brooklyn Hiphop Festival. There’s so many forces in the conversation. I’d like to bring to the table the influences different genres of indie music have on Hiphop, interviews with artists and thinkers and creators who can incite dialog and shifts in the status quo.

Whew. For now, here’s a start. Little Dragon performed at The Music Hall of Williamsburg and Mercury Lounge last week, and I wrote a performance review for Brooklyn Bodega:

http://www.brooklynbodega.com/2010/03/29/little-dragon-nyc/

And check out Little Dragon’s video for “Swimming” off their new album Machine Dreams. Yukimi Nagano’s father, Yusuke Nagano created the vid!

photo courtesy of Matthew Drazin, www.shotsofrock.com

Daily Rotation(s): “Tightrope” Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi

nandininessa — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:40:02 +0000

Robo-R&B art-roc-songstress Janelle Monae, all pompadour and soul, belts this shiny, self-assured ditty with poise ‘n attitude. Big Boi’s smooth foray against the funky bass line compliments the pure abandon that Ms. Monae delivers perfectly.

Throwback–Raya Uhuru

nandininessa — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:05:18 +0000

Dress line I started back before the recessionista days:

Haiti, the earthquake, and my family, by Edwidge Danticat

nandininessa — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:16:44 +0000

Beautiful words about her family, life and death, by writer Edwidge Danticat in the New Yorker.

via Haiti, the earthquake, and my family: newyorker.com.

Daily Rotation: tUnE-YarDs’ “Sunlight”

nandininessa — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:49:43 +0000

“I could be the sunlight in your eyes, couldn’t I?”

So asks Merrill Garbus’ (band name: tUnE YarDs) on her solo debut record, “Bird Brains.” In this song, her husky, humming voice is laid over a staggering drum set, until she breaks into this melodic question.

Miss Bruno’s “My So Called Dress”

nandininessa — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:36:02 +0000

Can I say…

J’adore!

Now, Miss Bruno and I are kindred spirits connected, cyber-spirituelle and whatnot. For serious–creativity, spark, story, color, lineage & design–I’m taken by this collection.

Here’s my favorite from the My So Called Dress collection (I think Angela Chase would appreciate).

The Sia Sia dress, v. 1–I love this sexy off-the-shoulder sheath dress. Made from hand-spun, handwoven cotton from Burkina Faso.

Beautiful synergy–the turquoise spade pattern, the prim suede trim, and the fly detailing on the belt–total elemental balance.

The Philosophy of Miss Bruno

(the beauties behind the threads, in the photos spread above)

“missbruno sprung from the marrow of our lineage, making twists and turns jusqu’ it morphed into the trans-worlds collection you see today. specifically, we are two sisters: brooklynites by way of Ayiti; designers, by way of musik and film; independent, by way of clothing made directly from our collective hands. our designs thrive on our philosophies on life: wholistic, lush, simple. we make things meant for sustainable living and other unassuming revolutions.”

Check the sweet sale at their online store. featuring dresses from this limited collection.

(http://shop.missbruno.com)

: Tap Tap Romper

: Rara Dress

: Wild Silks and Hand-woven Cotton

Daily Rotation: Yukino Kano renders Debussy

nandininessa — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:16:34 +0000

23 year old Japanese pianist, Yukino Kano, plays Claude Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau (Reflections in the Water) with grace and masterful touch. Each tremble across the length of the piano evokes ripples and currents, and she is a wonder to hear and watch.

From Toni Morrison’s “The Site of Memory”

nandininessa — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:11:17 +0000

“You know, they straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for houses and livable acreage. Occasionally the river floods these places. ‘Floods’ is the word they use, but in fact it is not flooding, it is remembering. Remembering where it used to be. All water has perfect memory and is forever trying to get back where it was. Writers are like that: remembering where we were, what valley we ran through, what the banks were like, the light that was there and the route back to our original place. It is emotional memory–where the nerves and the skin remember how it appeared. And a rush of imagination is our ‘flooding’…’

Beautifully spun words, by Ms. Toni Morrison. In honor of the struggle that’s going on in Haiti now. Remembering that we all connect to primordial memories of being uprooted, the landscape we breathe in & witness, the homes and ports in which we welcome strangers, and the eternal rebuilding.