GRAE New York

So, Bai Ling Has a Song

2012-01-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

Last week I was watching TMZ on TV and heard Bai Ling has a new song called U Touch Me, I Don't Know U. I don't make these things up people. I don't make these things up.

I didn't know Bai Ling sang. Technically, I don't know what she does or why she's famous. According to IMDB (yes, I had to consult), she's an actress. Who knew? All my memories of her involve red carpets, parties, and dancing.

Now let's break down the song. Bai doesn't really sing on the track. U Touch Me sounds more like spoken word, but I think it could work in an indie film. Her other song Rehab is another story. It needs some serious (for lack of a better word) rehabilitation.

¡Q'Viva! The Chosen Debuts Tonight on Univision

2012-01-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

They may have separated, but Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony aren't letting that stop them from making money together. Tonight at 7 p.m. they'll be debuting their new Univision talent competition ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen with one of my fave choreographers Jamie King. I think this show could be major! I love talent competitions, but American Idol, X Factor, and America's Got Talent bore me. I'm more of a So You Think You Can Dance, The Voice, and (if I'm up to it) Dancing with the Stars kind of girl. I think ¡Q'Viva! will shake things up. Now I just need to figure out what channel Univision's on and brush up on mi español.

GRAE Weekly: 1.27.12 Edition

2012-01-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

Spotted on Complex ...

In just a year Lana Del Rey has gone from unknown indie artist to the latest Complex cover girl. Her February/March Complex interview gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Lana's rise to stardom and the creation of her debut album Born to Die which drops on January 31st.

Read Lana Del Rey: Can She Live?

Spotted on The View ...

On Monday Katherine Heigl was on The View promoting her new movie One for the Money (in theaters today). Of course her 3 y.o. daughter Naleigh stole the show when she got up on stage during her mother's interview. Katherine said Naleigh loved her guest appearance and wants to be on more TV shows. So cute.

Watch Katherine Heigl on Adopting and Being a Mother!

Spotted on MissWhoever You Are ...

Rock & Republic is launching a new line with Kohl's. To celebrate the collaboration they'll be doing a fashion show during NYFW. MissWhoever You Are will be there and you could be too. Check out MissWhoever You Are for the details. The contest ends tomorrow so enter asap!

Read Gearing up for NYFW

Spotted on Arjan Writes ...

When I saw Natalie Duncan's photo on Arjan Writes I was instantly intrigued by how much she reminded me of fellow British songstress Natalia Kills. Her soulful voice on Devil in Me gave me goosebumps. She's definitely one to keep your eye on.

Watch Devil In Me

What Do Drake Fans Say?

2012-01-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Team Drizzy I found another "shit people say" video I can relate to. Right now I'm loving "Shit Drake Fans Say." I'm totally the girl who gets Drake's tweets sent to her phone and said "Esperanza who?" during last year's Grammy's. My favourite part of this is when Meg says, "It's okay Rihanna, Drake doesn't know my name either." Brilliant.

Tinashe Releases Trailer for "In Case We Die"

2012-01-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

LA-based indie artist Tinashe has given us a reason to be excited for February 1st. A couple days ago she released the trailer for her upcoming mixtape In Case We Die. It's all kinds of sexy, but don't let that distract you. This girl can sing and her range is crazy!

Since last summer Tinashe's been releasing a mix of original songs (Artificial People, Can't Say No, and Chainless) and covers (How to Love and We Found Love). The diversity in her sound makes her a young talent to keep your eyes on this year and beyond.

You know I'll remind you when In Case We Die drops next week. Until then, check out the trailer.

In Review: Lana Del Rey - 'Born to Die'

2012-01-25T10:30:00.000-05:00

A week away from its release, Lana Del Rey's much-anticipated debut album Born to Die has leaked. Of course I've heard it ... three times before sunrise.

Even though it's still January I can already tell this one's going to be in heavy rotation on my iPod for the rest of the year. Born to Die's so different from everything out right now. Lana's hip hop-inspired lyrics and sultry vocals over Emile Haynie's orchestral production makes everything sound dramatic and cinematic. It's the perfect combination of grit and glam.

The feeling I get from this album is the same feeling I got the first time I heard Justin Timberlake's Future Sex/Love Sounds and Gym Class Heroes' As Cruel as School Children. Like those 2 albums, Born to Die is unique in sound and brings something fresh to the table. This is definitely one to get when it's officially released next Tuesday, January 31st.

Favourite tracks:
Off to the Races
Diet Mtn Dew
Carmen
This Is What Makes Us Girls

Santigold Returns with "Big Mouth"

2012-01-22T13:30:00.000-05:00

Back in '08 I was all over Santigold's self-titled debut album. I listened to it nonstop for weeks and till this day I always go back it. After working on her follow-up project for the past few years, Santi's back with Master of My Make-Believe. Here's the video for her first single Big Mouth. If you go to santigold.com and sign up for updates, you'll receive a free download of the track.

Fashion Forward: Going Grunge

2012-01-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

(image via Elle)

In the fall of '06 I was a college freshman and grunge had returned to the runway. According to half the fashion-related emails I've received in the past few days, grunge is back again. Glad that didn't take long. I love grunge! There's just something about plaid and distressed denim that reminds me of my 90s childhood. It's like comfort fashion food. Of course I had to put my grunge skills to the test on Polyvore. I found the perfect pieces from Spanish Moss, Topshop, and Dr. Martens to style this My So-Called Life update. Create your own grunge set and post the link in the comments section!

Going Grunge by graenewyork

Picnik Closing? Say It Ain't So!

2012-01-21T10:30:00.000-05:00

So the bad news is my fave photo editing site Picnik is closing on April 19th. The good news is all the Premium features are free now. Let's Picnik!

You know the first premium thing I had to do was create this amazing How to Make It in America collage! Let's hope it makes its way to Mark Wahlberg. I'd be the perfect addition to the cast if he gets another network to pick up the show.

Rachel Bilson, Call Her Doctor

2012-01-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

Watch out Kreayshawn. Rachel Bilson is after your crown. Okay, not really, but she does does show off her rap skills in this Funny or Die music video Call Me Doctor. She even shouts out her old OC crew. Get 'em Summer Roberts!

Call Me Doctor with Rachel Bilson from Rachel Bilson

If you like this song, go to facebook.com/StrongMedicine to download it. You already know it's on my iPod.

GRAE Weekly: 1.20.12 Edition

2012-01-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

Solange Knowles
(image via Vogue Italia)

Spotted on Black Vogue Italia ...

There's always been something about Solange Knowles that I just love. She's so authentic and has a wicked sense of style and a killer voice. Currently she's working on a new album that I can't wait to hear. Solange recently spoke to Black Vogue Italia about music, fashion, love and success.

Read Solange Knowles

Spotted in The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl ...

Last year I became obsessed with the web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. In the last episode, [SPOILER ALERT] Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino makes a surprise guest appearance. Two of his songs, Heartbeat and L.E.S., also provide the soundtrack for the episode.

Watch Childish Gambino Performs Heartbeat on Conan

Spotted on Vanity Fair ...
Last season if I missed an episode of Glee I felt like I had missed out on life. This season I've only seen 2 episodes of the show - one because NCIS was a rerun and the other because Matt Morrison looked hot in the previews dancing to Moves Like Jagger. I'm not the only one who feels the show's become stale. Vanity Fair's Brett Berk announced he's over the show too.
Read Why I'm Giving Up on Glee
Spotted on Sour Notes ...
This week on Sour Notes, Nic posed a great question that made me think: "Indie music…what exactly does this terminology mean when describing a musician and where is indie music heading?" Honestly I'm not so sure myself. I've worked with a number of fantastic underground musicians who are considered indie artists. Then I see other acts like Lana Del Rey who are signed to major labels and are still called indie artists. This is where the waters get murky. See what Nic has to say about it.
Read Indie Music - Where is it Heading?
Spotted on Arjan Writes ...
Ever heard of Stooshe? Me neither. This girl group just released a new video with Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy so of course I had to take notice. The girls seem fun, bubbly, and colorful. Totally going to start paying more attention to them.
Watch Love Me

What Do New Yorkers Say?

2012-01-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

For the past month and a half, the "shit people say" craze has taken over the internet. Finally siblings Eliot and Ilana Glazer have created one I can totally relate to. Here's Shit New Yorkers Say.

"Dating Rules from my Future Self"

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

Who remembers Shiri Appelby? You know, that girl from Roswell who wasn't Katherine Heigl. If my reference is too dated for you, she was also in Six Degrees, E.R., and Life Unexpected. Still no idea? Okay, seriously, you need IMDB in your life.

Anyway, Shiri is back in the web series Dating Rules from my Future Self. She plays Lucy, a L.A. girl who starts receiving mysterious texts after her boyfriend proposes. It's kind of like New Girl meets Pretty Little Liars without Jess singing and A's cryptic notes and gifts. If you're intuitive (or paid attention to the title of the show), you can probably guess who the "mysterious" texts are from. Watch the first episode here.

The Garbage Percussion Workshop

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Remember when you were a kid and coffee cans were the perfect drum set? Recently singer-songwriter Annie Dinerman and percussionist Rex Benincasa took this concept to Dartmouth College. They showed the students there how to turn "garbage" into percussion instruments. Take a look.

Currently the Garbage Percussion Workshop is being presented at colleges, but Annie and Rex are developing another program for grades K-12. I think this is a great idea. When I was in preschool, one of my favorite class projects was making drums out of recycled coffee cans. It's a fun way to teach kids about the importance of repurposing materials we already have.
Visit Annie's blog to listen to One Planet at a Time. It's almost hard to believe that the music was created with plastic bags, glass and plastic bottles, a pill bottle filled with pistachio shells, a pizza box, a Snapple cap, congas made from tin cans, and timbales made from pizza sauce cans. Listen to the song and tell me what you think. If I didn't mention what materials were used for the sounds, would you have noticed? Didn't think so.

Ryan Star Releases "The America EP"

2012-01-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have those moments when you randomly think, "I wonder if so-and-so has any new music coming out soon?" That's what I thought just last week when I came across Ryan Star on my iPod. As luck would have it, Ryan released The America EP on Friday. The four songs on the free EP are a great addition to R. Star's catalogue. His lyrics, vocals, and melodies are so powerful. This EP will sound amazing when performed live. You need to download this now: Mediafire

GRAE Weekly: 1.13.12 Edition

2012-01-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

Saw this on College Candy's Facebook page. I love #4

Spotted on Refinery29 ...

A few weeks ago as I created my about.me profile it hit me ... I have no good solo shots of myself! Of all my friends, I'm the photographer so I usually find myself behind the camera instead of in front of it. The one good shot I have of myself was taken by a blogger at an art show last year. For those of you who want a hot photo instead of the usual mirror shot or baby photo (my current profile picture), check out this article.

Read How to Look Gorgeous in Pictures: Facebook Edition

Spotted on SoundCloud ...

I love Austin Brown! For those of you who don't know, he's the son of Rebbbie Jackson, which makes him one of the talented Jackson clan. This year Austin will be breaking out of the shadows of his famous family with his own music. Last year he gave us a taste of what he can do when he released the video for 85, a sampler of the songs from his upcoming debut album of the same name. One of my fave snippets from the video was Midnight Man. Last week Austin released the full version on his SoundCloud. I've already favorited it.

Listen to Midnight Man
Midnight Man by Austin Brown
Spotted on Sour Notes ...
There's no denying that Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks was the sleeper hit of 2011. Although I didn't mind the song, I wasn't really interested in hearing anything else from the band. That all changed after I read Sour Note's review of their album Torches. Like me, she thought Foster the People would be one-hit wonders. Then she listened to their album. Now I too must listen to their album and see if my mind is equally blown.
Read Foster the People - Torches
Spotted on Arjan Writes ...
Earlier this week I came across singer-songwriter ZZ Ward on Arjan Writes. I instantly fell in love with her voice and wanted to hear more from her. Just my luck, she recently released the mixtape Eleven Roses. Go to zzward.com to download it.
Watch Better Off Dead

Spotted on Business of Fashion ...
Ever heard of the streetwear brand Supreme? Me neither. Apparently Tyler, the Creator wore their hat when he accepted his VMA last year. Yeah, no clue either. Anyway, Business of Fashion did a great two-part feature on the company that you should check out.
Read Inside Supreme: Anatomy of a Global Streetwear Cult — Part IRead Inside Supreme: Anatomy of a Global Streetwear Cult — Part II
Spotted on Time ...
When I hear a song I just listen for feeling and musicality. It takes me a while (sometimes years) to notice what the artist is saying. That's why I didn't realize how deep the lyrics of Jay-Z's new song Glory were until Touré's article pointed it out. Glory really is one of hip hop's greatest love songs.
Read Jay-Z's 'Glory' for Blue: One of Hip-Hop's Greatest Love Songs

The Only Will Ferrell Movie I'll Ever See

2012-01-12T22:04:00.000-05:00

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I've never seen a Will Ferrell movie. Old School? Couldn't care less. Elf? Not even James Caan could make me watch this. Anchorman? No way. Blades of Glory? This is getting ridiculous. Step Brothers? What do you think.

I didn't mind Will Ferrell on SNL, but he wasn't my fave cast member so I was not about to spend my money on one of his movies. That may change when Casa de mi Padre comes out in March. Of course the only reason, well 2 reasons, for me to see this movie are listed right there on the photo above. Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. They're 2 of my favorite actors, and I usually see everything they're in. Knowing me, I'll totally ignore Will's scenes and focus on my Mexican BFFs.

Listen Up: Blue Ivy Carter Gets Her Own Song

2012-01-09T15:55:00.001-05:00

What were you doing at 2 days old? If your Jay-Z and Beyonce's daughter you get a feature on daddy's new song. Produced by The Neptunes, Glory features the cries of Blue Ivy. Sounds like someone inherited mama's pipes.

JAY-Z - GLORY by DJ Flexman

I expect this one to be all over the airwaves before dinnertime. I'm also expecting everyone to be SHOCKED that the track wasn't produced by Kanye. I love Pharrell & co. so I don't care, but I'm expecting 'Ye to be the godfather and Kelly Rowland to be the godmother. Aren't you?

Mike Posner "Looks Like Sex"

2012-01-09T12:35:00.002-05:00

Friday night I tweeted, "When's that new Mike Posner video for 'Looks Like Sex' being released?" The only response I received was from one of my Twitter friends who said, "Ew." Love her!
Anyway, someone from Posner's camp must have seen my tweet because this morning his newsletter included a link to the new video! Or, more likely, the video was already set to debut today and I subconsciously remembered last Friday.
Whatever the real story is, Looks Like Sex is here. For those of you who think Casper Smart is just J.Lo's backup dancer ... among other things ... he's the one who choreographed this. Yeah, I know these things! Watch the video and let me know what you think of Casper's choreography.

We're a "Huge Group of Girls"

2012-01-08T15:58:00.001-05:00

For the past few weeks I've been all over the whole Shit Girls Say craze and all its spin-offs. Now I'm all about Huge Group of Girls. The song is actually from Last Call Cleveland's comedy album Puts Their Music in You, currently available on iTunes. Send this one to all your girls and guys!

Chiddy Bang Gets Their "Ray Charles" On

2012-01-07T19:42:00.000-05:00

It just dawned on me, Chiddy Bang hasn't released a debut album yet. Everything I have from them is a mixtape. That will all change when Breakfast drops on February 28. Check out the video for their first single Ray Charles. I love the throwbacks to old school music videos, Fresh Prince, and The Blues Brothers. So legit.

The Masked Gorilla Talks Hip Hop and More with P-Rod

2012-01-07T02:38:00.000-05:00

Just finished watching this interview with one of my fave sk8r boys, P-Rod (a.k.a. Paul Rodriguez, Jr.). I like how he and Roger Gorilla from The Masked Gorilla were able to relate skating with hip hop. Check it out. Tons of great inspirational advice in here.

GRAE Weekly: 1.6.12 Edition

2012-01-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

I decided to start a new GRAE New York feature this year. Actually, it's a remix of an old feature called In My Inbox. Each week (or more realistically, whenever I remember), I'll be posting videos and links to a few sites and stories you should check out. Here goes nothin' ...

Photo by Bruce Davidson

Spotted on Jeremy Danté ...

I've been obsessed with Jeremy Dante's blog for a few years now. From his editorial posts to his vlog updates, everything he does is quality work. Earlier this week he wrote a brilliant article about how Lil Kim got him into high fashion and how hip hop has been a big influence for him.

Read How Hip-Hop Introduced Me To High Fashion

Spotted on Vanity Fair ...

DJ/producer Diplo has been writing a travel series for Vanity Fair for the past couple of months. His latest focuses on the "Tecno Brega" scene in Brazil and the bands that have brought it to the forefront in the rapidly developing country. One of these groups is Banda UO whose Shake de Amor samples Willow Smith's Whip My Hair.

Watch Shake de Amor

Spotted on UO ...
Ever heard of the fashion editor and stylist Zara Mirkin? Neither did I until I read this interview with her on Urban Outfitters' blog. I love learning how people get into fashion and where their style inspiration comes from.
Read About a Girl: Zara Mirkin
Spotted on Flavorwire ...
Lately I've become obsessed with Flavorwire. A few days ago they posted Bruce Davidson's photos of the Jokers, a '50s teen gang from Brooklyn. The vintage photo set sort of reminded me of Rebel Without a Cause. The full slideshow's over on Retronaut.
View Brooklyn Teen Gang, The Jokers, 1959
Spotted on Twitter ...
Before we rang in 2012, Justin Bieber posted a new song with him and Jaden Smith. You guys, this is Beiber at his sexiest! I think I can say that since he's 18 in 3 months. Now I really can't wait to hear what Bieber's next album sounds like!
Listen to Happy New Year

Ellie Goulding, A Rising Icon

2012-01-05T22:24:00.000-05:00

You guys know I absolutely love Ellie Goulding! So glad to see her featured in Grey Goose's Rising Icons series. For those of you who still don't know who Ellie is, you need to stop what you're doing and watch this immediately. You'll find out a bit about her background in the UK, why she looks up to Bjork, and more! Check out her interview and performance of Guns & Horses and Starry Eyed below ...

Part 1: Artist Portrait

Part 2: Inside the Creative Process

Part 3: Live Performance

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T14:35:00.001-05:00

Well kids, 2012 is upon us. Let's make the next 366 days count!

Every year I have a theme song, and this year it's will.i.am's T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever) featuring Jennifer Lopez and Mick Jagger. As I lay the groundwork for my comeback, this song is totally inspiring ... especially the line "you can go to work, or you can be the boss."

All the best to you and yours this year! Get ready for another amazing year of GRAE New York. I'm already planning an expansion so stay tuned ...