more hot germans for plan b under the dizzying influence of red wine

MIT - Coda
Confession: I am a total Germanic-maniac. I don't drink lattes, I sup milchkaffees. I don't do London, ich liebe Berlin. So, naturally, I snoozed to brooding Cologne electro-minstrels MIT on my headphones in some Kreuzberg hotel and drifted into bliss.

MIT are one of those acts who think they have to pretend to be an indie band just because once upon a time they learned to play some instruments. However, thanks to the still-evolving indie-dance crossover legacy of DFA, they needn't worry - no one has to feign band-ness anymore. Instead of letting the frontman sing then, I wish they'd no lyrics at all - who needs 'songs'?

The finest tracks on Coda are the post-Jeans Team almost-instrumentals (Coda, Park and Deispiel) showcasing oi-techno which pulses with zippy beats worth at least one Soulwax edit and echoing with the masters of electroclash - a bit of T. Rauschmiere here, Kittin there and Tiga all over.

owww my ears/this week's coolest coldest headgear

ok, all the geek boys will have their own opinion on which 'noise excluding lughole plugpods' you should buy because, you know they're the major noise-draft excluders. HOWEVER i accidentally discovered these sony headphones when my friend zoe gave me a bunch that she'd nicked from her dad/office a few years ago. the sound is far superior to lil free ipod earphones because they're uh headphones and they're not bulky enough to upset the stuff-space ratio in your bag when you're not using them. the only reason i say this is cos when i was on the 38 bus from angel (not officially the trendiest route in london, but up there nonetheless) this morning, as i took a shifty glance from behind my fringe around at my fellow passengers, no less than 3 within eyeshot were using said peripherals. trend? i think so.

STELLA WAS A DIVER

That try-hard trend accidental experiment in full then...
btw all those paparazzi pics of amy wino in the papers everyday bother me not because of whatever disheveled state she was in at the courthouse-drugdealer-petrolstationcourtyard this morning, but because she never ever has a coat on, just a raggedy lace vest or a skimpy fred perry polo t. i'm so jealous! i hate wearing coats too - i'd much rather just throw on a lil leather jacquette or cape thing, but it's been too cold. how can she get away with it? is her ex-cabbie dad now her on-staff chauffeur or something? that would be so convenient, you'd never need to worry about your stupid heavy coat matching everything else again, never mind the whole cloakroom issue.

electroclash//crossover

1. the stars of the epoch-defining fin de siecle electroclash movement are finally getting their celebrity dues in the form of designing their own collection for h&m. uh kind of. tiga AND chicks on speed have contributed hoodie and vest templates respectively to raise money for aids charities - i was speechless (even though i didn't have anyone to talk to) when i saw the rails of 'clash fash inside the doors of h&m oxford circus - most people are going to assume that CHICKSONSPEED is just another lame faux rocknroll logo from the h&m dodgy wholesale division. but that's not the point - all for a good cause! and it's reassuring to know that the chix are still in business (well there's another girl monster out soon anyway) and that tiga is keeping busy in between podcasts and existential crises brought on by listening to too much mnml.
2. STOP PRESS!! tiga has done a spesh itunes podcast for it which i can't access because it crashed my computer! i've only just tired of listening to his podcast #4. 'i wish i could reverse edit bits of my life.'
3. this is true.
4. and makes me think that i can't wait for this...

"let the bats in my head fly out"

1. bodywarmers: shudder. i was on the number 19 bus to oxford street on thursday and spied the man in the seat in front of me unashamedly wearing a dirty old bodywarmer. shame on him! they are the ugliest garments to ever curse a 'wardrobe'! especially when they've been washed loads of times and go all deflated. YUCK.
2.is the topshop vintage concession the biggest con on oxford street? my current shopping project priority is to find a smashing outfit for nick & phoebe's wedding and i haven't even started to look yet because january is not a month for shopping, nu-uh. anyway, they charge £80 for the kind of polyester granny-rags that no ebayer would have the gall to ask more than 99p (+ p&p) for! it's always been a ripoff, but just keeps getting more and more expensive - you'd have to be really lazy/rich/in object-lust to buy anything in there these days.
3. in much more important news, miss kittin has declared herself a feminist in the cover interview in this month's dj mag - KITTINLOVE. that quote in full:'I've realised that if you're a woman, especially if you're an artist, I think it means that you are a feminist, because you're here to talk about who you are. there is some stuff to talk about being a woman in this world. it's still better to be a man in society.//i was influenced by other powerful girls like electric indigo, who was always politically engaged, and i could never dare compare me to her, she's done such great work and i respect her so much for that. the same for peaches...they took it by the balls and i didn't, for some reason, i shied away from it. i have to be pretty humble with that because i was not more of an activist.'

i was going to write a secret thing on WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LE TIGRE? for pamflet, even though i knew that JD was djing and hanging out with peaches, jo was cutting hair in NYC and kathleen was all married with beastie boy/man. but now the 2js have rattled up on myspace as a hot globetrotting dj duo and promise NEW MATERIAL v soon! and how did they play in london in the AUTUMN and i didn't know?? check out their blog too, totes girl fun.

anna you're a star/anna's got the blues

i have unintentionally dipped a converse-trainerd toe in this season's chief one-off/throwaway trend the STAR. zoom in on battered, charity shop blue canvas, with white U-S-A, U-S-A white laces with lil stars specially bought from office years and years ago. i hope no one thinks im trying to look like kate moss. photo to follow, obv.

there was freezing fog, ok? i can't believe i missed this

COME BACK SOON

FLATTERY WILL GET YOU EVERYWHERE: pamflet returns to the social

our last party at the social in december 2006 has gone down in (pamflet) legend - laura marling played live (thanks to sophie) and the dramatic shimura curves on stage breakup happened. still, they've invited us back and this time it's for 4 (5?) hours of pure pamflet action - lady-led lektroluv, ashlee simpson, blog-house remixes and nostalgia-pop while wearing pink dresses and performing an improvised repertoire of un-self-conscious arm-waving dance moves. PHEW. that's what valentine's day is really for.

i've forgotten what

i was going to say