Music Updates: Schwarz + Losers' Blues

Hey, people!

While I'm still working on my next outfit post (all I can tell you right now is that there's gonna be around 70 pics in it LMAO), I decided to show you some of the other things I do. You know that music is the thing that really keeps me busy, so here is the news:

First of all, I finally recorded my acoustic cover of Tokio Hotel's Schwarz about a week ago. I had been wanting to cover that song for quite a long while, so I feel really satisfied I've finally done it. 

I have a very special feeling for Schwarz. It's probably one of the darkest songs TH ever made, and there's so much of them in it it almost hurts. I worked really hard trying to preserve the atmosphere and meaning of the original track - I hope I've achieved it!

Of course, I had to deal with the usual complications... like the fact that it's almost impossible to find half-decent Tokio Hotel guitar tabs out there for any songs aside from the singles. Everytime I try to play some rare TH material, I have to figure out the tuning (which is never the easiest job) and then sort of re-write the songs based on what I hear on the record. I don't really care if it coincides with what they actually play as long as it sounds good to me LOL For Schwarz, I mixed the guitar strumming with the bass riffs; it's a very bass-heavy song, so you just can't leave those out.

The hardest part, however, was the vocal performance. I really had to put my German to work in order to make it sound like real German... which is not the easiest thing, since I'm not a native German speaker (or a German speaker at all LMAO). Singing a song like Shwarz is harder than you might imagine, because everything in it is so subtle... It's not so much about singing a melody (Schwarz is definitely not the most melodic song LOL) as it is about saying - really saying - the words. And damn, that's hard LOL 

Anyway, the important thing is I'm really satisfied with the result, and I'll hope you'll be as well :)

Everything was recorded live, so that's basically me singing and playing guitar in front of a microphone ^^

Continuing with the trail of music news, I've just uploaded the third track from my album demo to my band's ReverbNation page. As you might have already guessed from this post's title, it's called Losers' Blues. The lyrics are a little bitter because they are based on some really unpleasant stuff that happened with some people from my past (mostly former bandmates), but the music is sort of funny, so one thing makes up for the other, I guess LOL 

As you might have guessed, it's a bluesy type of song, even though it has very little to do with blues standards. I just had this cool riff (which, by the way, was one of the very first guitar riffs I ever wrote - quite a long time ago already LOL) and basically built everything else around it. Simple as that.

As usual, I played all the instruments on the record, programmed the MIDI drums and recorded and mixed everything at home on my Cubase AI 5. That might give you an idea of why it takes SO FUCKING LONG to put these mixes out LOL

But, hey, it's not that bad for a demo, is it? ;)

Well, that's it. I hope you've enjoyed my little songs and all the work I've put into them :)

If you want, you can find more cool acoustic covers and original songs on Dissent's SoundCloud and ReverbNation pages respectively.

And, now that I've said this, I'll go back to working on my next outfit post, rehearsing my next cover and mixing my next album track. I guess I'll be every bit as busy as always ,)

See you!

Our Lady Of Skulls

This time I bring you an outfit I wore back in May (!), for a one-off session of Queen’s Hungarian Rhapsody at the movie theatre.

Starting this one was a little tricky.

I began by searching for stuff in the colour palette of my lilac glitter nail polish. However, I found myself face to face with the fact that pink and lilac are pretty misrepresented in my wardrobe, so I had to quickly give up on the idea.

Instead, I started rummaging through my latest purchases, and I came across my Lady Of Skulls tank top (previously seen in my Skull Kitsch post). I realized that it had a few pink elements on it that were pretty much the shade of my nail polish, and I took it as a sign that I should pick it and go on from there. Pink and grey could make an interesting combination, and that was already something…

The first thing I did was to pair the tank top with some über-slim-fit grey jeans I got during my latest Mango Outlet shopping spree (yup – I can’t get my heels through these either LOL). The combination was quite easy, but I still wasn’t sure about how the tank top would look on me. It was obviously going to need some work before I could walk out in it.

And, of course, I was still miles away from coming up with a concept.

My first concern, however, was the huge empty area on my chest. I needed to fill it with something, and I thought about using my cross print Bershka scarf for that purpose. I tried wrapping it around my neck in different ways, but nothing looked satisfactory enough: I tried the noose, the celebrity collar, just letting it hang loose each side of my neck… In the end, there was just one option left: the bow. That was a pretty crazy idea, because this scarf is actually HUGE, but I still had to try.

As you can see on the pictures, the resulting bow was bigger than me (LOL), but it was OK. It actually made me think of an extremely exaggerated 18^th century dandy. That was some sort of concept, so I had to go for it.

 

But, of course, before I proceeded, I had to add some substance underneath the tank top. It was still May, and the weather wasn’t warm enough to wear just that… aside from certain size issues I have already commented on my previous post :P

I didn’t have a lot to choose from, so I picked up the first (and most interesting) grey long-sleeve T-shirt I could find. It matched the colours of the outfit quite well, and its curious texture made it funnier to wear then just a plain grey T-shirt. It was also quite suitable for the day’s weather, and, most important of all: it filled the gaps.

Once I had the basics in place, I still had to decide where the outfit was headed. I tried on tons of jackets (including my brand new silver biker jacket), but none of them looked right. And I was getting a little bit impatient already.

Aside from developing a concept, I also had to deal with the tank-top’s excessive length. First of all, I tucked the back into the jeans, in order to try and prevent it from looking like I had put on a basketball shirt from a guy ten sizes larger than me (LOL). I do this all the time (like I already explained in my Prince Not-So-Charming post), and the hardest part is always to prevent the front part from puckering in random ways. And, as you can see on the pictures, things can still go out of control sometimes… LOL

Anyway, I still had to solve the issue of the jacket.

I decided I should try with a longer jacket – perhaps a coat? That felt very much in line with the dandy concept, so I had to give it a chance. I thought about a grey suede coat I had used for a (*cough* pretty similar *cough*) cowboy outfit a few years ago. However, I ended up choosing this grey denim coat from Mango instead. I didn’t even remember it was there, but it looked really cool on me. Of course, it was quite oversized… but that’s not the end of the world, is it? :P Plus, oversized coats were a big trend in the 1700s! And wearing a suede coat in May didn’t really feel that adequate LOL

Once I put the denim coat on, I discovered that I had just added a plot twist to my still-developing concept: my 18^th Century dandy seemed to be turning into an extremely mannered cowboy... or something like that. Of course, that made perfect sense to me (LOL). At this point, I had to decide whether I wanted to take the cowboy path or try and stick to the 18^th Century concept.

Obviously, I went for the easiest option, so I hurried up and completed the outfit with my brown cowboy booties and my classic brown cowboy hat (you might remember it from my Gold Fever outfit last year).

After all, this is not the first time I fuse the cowboy theme with European dandy style ;)

I’ve used these booties quite a few times already, but I think I’ve never written about them on this blog. They have a very cool shape and colour, even though it’s sometimes (=always) a bit difficult to adjust them to the trousers. Usually, they are too tight to tuck the pants in, and too bulky to wear them on top.

At that point, my outfit was pretty much finished. I was really surprised at how I had managed to integrate something like a huge bow into a cowboy styling and make it look so natural – and, by that, I mean it looks completely natural TO ME (LOL). The whole thing definitely reminded me of my Gold Fever outfit, even though it didn’t have the same California summer vibe (LOL).

 

However, I still had a problem: the jeans and the booties were not interacting alright. 

The booties were adding some uncomfortable and totally unnecessary bulk around my ankles. I thought I might just deal with that, but, after a while – and at The Dude’s suggestion – I tried rolling the jeans up in order to dissimulate the extra volume. Surprisingly enough, it worked! You will probably notice it’s there, now that I’ve told you… but shhhhh! – let’s keep that a secret ;)

By the way, Hungarian Rhapsody was an experience beyond awesome. Of course, nothing beats Live At Wembley ‘86 for me, but Hungarian Rhapsody stands pretty close. Plus, I had never seen Queen on the big screen before, so there’s no point in comparing!

And, of course, the accompanying documentary is priceless! :D

We sat in the first row (I took my cowboy hat off, of course LOL), so after two-and-a-half hours, my neck got pretty tired. However, the feeling of intimacy and the absence of heads in the front seats made up for everything.

I could say so much more on the subject, but I think I’ve already written enough… Plus, this is not even a music blog!

…unless I want it to?

Tank top: Bershka

Jeans: MNG

Booties: In Extenso

Long-sleeve T-shirt: second hand Dismero

Coat: MNG

Hat: unknown

Scarf: Bershka

Nail polish: Basic

Ride The Light(ning)

Hello everybody! It's been a while since I made my last outfit post, but, after a few busy months and tons and tons of failed attempts (I still have about half a dozen yet-to-be-posted outfits patiently waiting in line T_T), I've finally gotten to the painful task of writing a full blog entry!

I started this outfit from this Metallica long-sleeved T-shirt. I don’t even remember where it came from, but I think I’ve had it for more than six years already. I had never used it before, mainly because it has a quite a strange shape, and it’s not exactly suitable for all sorts of weather. However, it fits my body really nicely (a bit too nicely, I have to say – I still feel kinda strange in tight-fitting clothes since my ballet days LOL), and it looks great with my Road Rage nails.

The T-shirt was obviously asking for an edgy punk look. I immediately came across this extreme Harajuku punk outfit I had discovered a few weeks ago. Of course, the overall concept was a bit too extreme for me (even for me LOL), but the idea of an unorthodox necktie with a certain S&M vibe really got me. I didn’t know what to use for that purpose, so I tried a couple of things until I found this grey belt from Mango. I’ve had it for a couple of years already, but I had never used it until now. It feels like suede (even though I don’t think it’s genuine leather) and has a nice concrete colour. I tried it just to see how it would look, and I really liked it. The combination looked quite powerful.

I didn’t have a specific idea of what I wanted to get (aside from the punk thing), so I just started messing around to see what would happen. I discovered this jacket from Mango still in its shopping bag (I keep there with a bunch of stuff I bought the same day because I want to make a shopping post about that at some point, even though I don't know if that's ever going to happen LOL). I didn’t even remember I had it, but it looked awesome straight away. I love its peculiar slightly-oversized shape and its unusual waxed paper texture (which turned out to be a great advantage, considering the fact that I had to deal with unexpected rain on that day T_T).

With these three elements in place, my Menkes cap was a natural choice. I knew I was slightly repeating the concept of my Road Rage outfit, but I didn’t care. This cap is so versatile I just can’t get tired of it.

I was starting to see another biker look coming... But this one was going to have a pilot twist.

Once I had the top, I had to go for the bottom. I didn’t have a hard time picking up the jeans because they came to the look quite naturally (once again, I was reusing a Road Rage element e_e’). However, it was a little harder with the boots. I tried on my brown cowboy booties and my studded biker boots, but neither looked good enough, so I decided to take a risk and see how the whole thing would look with the über-cool cowboy boots I used for my A Cowboy In The Court Of Louis XIV outfit…

I wasn’t too sure about it, at first. It took me a few minutes of analyzing myself in the mirror to figure out if I liked how the boots looked or not… but I did! And, the more I looked at them, the more I started to see a certain Bill-Kaulitz-ness in the whole thing LOL This outfit certainly reminds me of Bill’s 2010 Audi A1 photoshoot look. However, I have to say that, for once, this similarity was not intentional :P I didn't even remember  this particular look while I was styling my own - I promise! 

The whole look was already kinda finished, but I was still not completely satisfied. There was something missing in the middle section, and I couldn’t really tell what. I spent another half an hour (not literally LOL) staring in the mirror trying to understand what it was, until I finally got it.

I always thought that there was nothing in my body I particularly disliked, but I was wrong: I do dislike my hips. It’s not that I dislike them in absolute terms, of course, but I don’t like the way certain trousers fit on them. That probably explains why I always feel the compulsive need to add big belts to my outfits when I’m not wearing oversized looks, in order to give them some extra structure. And that’s exactly what I did this time. I tried on a few belts, but none of them worked like the classic Commando/Goth For One Day leather belt did, so I just put that one on and, after a few adjustments, the look was ready.

As I said above, I had to deal with heavy rain (you can see some of it in the instagram collage bellow) and cold wind on the day I originally wore this outfit... which wasn't exactly the most exciting experience in my whole life (LOL). I had to wait one whole week for the rain to stop in order to to be able to actually take some pictures of the outfit, but, thankfully, there was a nice afternoon sun shining on the day of the photoshoot that created some really curious effects on the pictures ^^

As you can see, my boy Quicksilver wanted to be in the pictures too ;)

And, now that we're done with the fashion, let's get on with the music!



Metallicaaaaaa! \m/ ;)

T-Shirt: Metallica

Jeans: MNG

Boots: Vogue

Cap: Menkes

Scarf: MNG

Belt: vintage