Divasoria

Radio was one of the things I loved growing up. I used to listen to it non-stop in my pre-teen years. But with the rise of modern alternatives, most significantly the rise of iPod and podcasts, radio’s popularity has waned in recent years.

Podcasting was a term coined in 2004 by ‘90s MTV VJ Adam Curry combining the terms iPod and broadcasting.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “It is the digital recording of a radio broadcast and similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.”

Not since blogging has a technology seemed so unexpected and widely adopted. Podcasting offers people a medium to express their ideas through a computer and Internet connection. And thanks to the accessibility of Apple’s iTunes store, it has become a new route for both established and newbie broadcasters to let their voices be heard by a wider audience. In fact, some have actually made podcasting a lucrative profession with the likes of movie director and screenwriter Kevin Smith and his own growing empire of internet-based programs.

On the local front, a popular podcast run by makeup artist Jake Galvez and stylist Matt Gozun is Becky Nights, a show focused on LGBT topics, celebrity musings and fashion talk. If you’re for the more non-celebrity based discussion, one notable alternative is a web-based talk show called Urban Exchange.

For the rest of the article, click the link here.

Sometimes being a girl can be such a drag. Unlike our male counterparts, women are expected to look put-together and perfect even while doing the most mundane things.

I find myself standing in front of my closet dumbstruck with what to wear and I wish that somebody would come up with a virtual closet organizer just like the one Cher Horowitz had in the ‘90s movie classic, Clueless — a computer that helps you mix and match everything in your closet before even trying them on.

Finally, the moment has arrived. What started as a film-based fantasy has become a reality with the launching of the first Filipino style networking site Miss-Match (http://www.miss-match.com.ph/) and just like Cher’s closet computer, it allows you to put together looks for every occasion.

This virtual closet is brought to you by FashionLab Inc., a family corporation composed of Albert Labrador, Pia Labrador, Toto Labrador, Pierra Calasanz-Labrador and Chinggay Labrador.

All are fashion insiders with a vast network and invaluable experience in the local industry.

For the rest of the article, click the link here.

As a huge Internet addict, I can’t even imagine life without it. During the height of typhoon Falcon’s onslaught a few weeks ago, cable TV in my neighborhood went down. I was praying the whole weekend that my Internet connection would not go next. Thankfully, it didn’t.

The Internet has opened up windows of possibilities with social media interaction in real time; movies or TV shows on-demand and probably the best invention since sliced bread — online shopping with just a click of a mouse.

With online shopping at our fingertips, I don’t need to book a plane ticket just to check out new stuff from J.Crew, Barneys, and Colette. Their websites are easy to navigate, efficient and simple enough for you to enjoy retail therapy. But despite the proliferation of international brands on the online shopping front, Filipino brands haven’t capitalized on this phenomenon outside cumbersome social media outlets such as Multiply or Facebook.

For those unfamiliar with shopping via social media, it’s a little overwrought. A vendor sets up a social media account filled with photos of their products. Then you go through the process of checking out the albums and asking the seller the price of each item individually. After a few private messages, you need to pay them through some mobile system such as GCASH or deposit money in the seller’s bank account. This tedious process has made me too wary of the experience until I found out about Catalogue 63.

To read the rest of the article, please check the online version here.

To be honest, I haven’t been inside a Regatta store since the early ‘90s. From what I remember, it used to be a store that drew in the Filipino “preppy” crowd. Back then it was our local version of Polo Ralph Lauren-meets-safari-inspired-Banana Republic.

The local “preppy,” or colloquially called coño, are mostly upper- to upper-middle-class Manila-bred kids who went to the same exclusive schools, grew up in gated subdivisions around the Metro, hung out at the Polo Club, played football on weekends and spoke with a Spanglish-Tagalog drawl.

Coño kids also had a uniform of piqué polo shirts, Bermuda shorts, espadrilles or Sperry Topsiders — and Regatta catered to this demographic.

With that impression, I didn’t have any grand expectation from the show. But as soon as the music started, I was floored by a spirited display of Americana that reminded me of US East Coast preppy ethos.

For the rest of the article, click the link here.

As the Grammys were winding down last February, I saw a Facebook status that said: “Arcade Fire won Album of the Year and why don’t I know them?”

The same sentiment echoed throughout the Internet culminating in a Tumblr account, whoisarcadefire.tumblr.com — a website that posted tweets of the bewildered worldwide audience.

So really, who is Arcade Fire?

Formed in 2001 by Win Butler, the Montreal-based band is one of the biggest acts in the “indie” rock scene. Through the years, Arcade Fire has gone through personnel changes but in its most current form, it is made up of eight musicians: Win Butler and wife Regine Chassagne, Will Butler, Richard Reed Perry, Jeremy Gara, Sarah Neufeld, Tim Kingsbury, and Marika Anthony-Shaw.

Known for their guerilla-style gigs around Montreal and New York City, the band made its recording debut in 2004 with Funeral which produced hits like Wake Up and Rebellion, garnering critical and commercial success. Soon after, they followed it up with “Neon Bible” which has led them to open for U2 and headline musical festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Reading and Leeds.

Their coup de grâce is 2010’s “The Suburbs” making it the no. 1 record in the US charts and winning this year’s Grammy for “Album the Year.”

Arcade Fire’s Will Butler spoke exclusively to On the Radar about Eminem, their recording process and touring, among other things.

ON THE RADAR: Your album “Suburbs” hit no. 1 in album sales and won this year’s Grammy, how do you feel about your critical and commercial success? I also read somewhere that you beat Eminem on both attempts?

Will Butler: We beat Eminem to number one when we were on our first week and he was on his sixth week. One week later he was back at the top. But I’m not going to lie — it still felt good. It was a close one, too. The word on the street was that he had won but we squeaked by because people had underestimated independent record stores.As far as the rest of the success, it feels very good. We always claim that we make the music we make because we like it but it’s certainly very affirming to know that other people like it, too. And that makes it a lot easier to keep making music when you can make a good living out of it. We feel very grateful and a little almost confused, like, “Who, us? You like?” whenever we hear people’s reaction to our music.

photo by anton corbijn

for more of my interview for on the radar, please check out this link.

To know more about Arcade fire, visit their website www.arcadefire.com.

Thanks to Dounia Mikou of Quest Management for making this interview possible.

They say trends come in 20-year cycles, so it’s not surprising to see the ‘90s coming back.

I have so many happy memories of that decade where I watched Reality Bites and Singles over and over; worshiped Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke; waited for episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, My So-called Life and Party of Five; shopped at Contempo Casuals, Rampage and even Hot Topic.

I was fascinated with tattoos and body piercing; wore the Doc Martens and the boyfriend jeans until they had holes in them; had super-thin eyebrows and lined my lips with MAC’s Spice lip liner.

I was proudly a quintessential ‘90s chick. But more than the fashion and TV, what really takes me back is the music.

I was in seventh grade when I discovered Nirvana and sold my Madonna-loving, Debbie Gibson-dancing and NKOTB-obsessed tween soul to depressive rock stars who didn’t seem to shower and would scream-growl through their songs. There was something about angry and loud music that mixed well with teenage angst.

I took in the whole grunge pseudo counter-culture completely.

I would lock myself up in my room and listen to NU 107, MTV’s Alternative Nation and 120 minutes.

And one of the bands I adored was Stone Temple Pilots.

When I heard news about their concert in Manila, I knew I had to be there. Now I know how our parents feel whenever Trini Lopez or the Beach Boys fly in for a concert.

Stone Temple Pilots (or more popularly known as STP) is a California-based band lead by Scott Weiland on vocals, the DeLeo brothers Dean and Robert on bass and lead guitars, and Eric Kretz on drums. STP was one of the proponents of modern rock in the early ‘90s along with Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

When their debut album “Core” was released in 1992 it sold 40 million copies worldwide. They followed up “Core” with “Purple” in 1994, debunking the “sophomore slump” myth to win the Best Hard Rock Performance award at the Grammys in the same year.

The band has gone through their highs and lows with Scott Weiland’s well-documented drug woes, leading to a break-up in 2003 when Scott decided to join Velvet Revolver, a superband composed of Guns n’ Roses’ Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum and Wasted Youth’s David Kushner.

STP eventually reunited in 2008 and started touring extensively, In 2010 they released the album “Stone Temple Pilots.”

As expected, the STP concert crowd was filled with 30-somethings trying to relive lost glory. Many came in standard ‘90s grunge outfits composed of a black top, plaid button-down shirt, torn jeans and Doc Martens. A few men came their polo barongs, looking like they came straight from the office.

Front act was SinosiKat, which seemed like an odd choice, but some insiders said that STP requested for a band that had a female lead vocalist. Kat and her group were energetic but sadly played to a half empty coliseum since people decided to have dinner during their set.

STP started their set late, around 9:30 and opened the concert with Crackerman promptly followed by anthems like Wicked Garden and Vasoline.

To read more about my experience during the STP concert last Wednesday, please read the rest of the article here.

all photos courtesy of Niña Sandejas

NEW YORK CITY — Because recent fashion runways have been filled with MC Hammer pants, sheik-like turbans, Chewbacca jackets and furry boots, even studded, razor-sharp stilettos — observers ask: Do stylish women dress up for men?

Revolutionary designer Elsa Schiaparelli famously said, “Women dress alike all over the world; they dress to annoy other women.”

Believe me, nothing makes a fashionable woman’s heart go a-flutter as when girlfriends, frenemies or random chicks go up to her and say, “I love your outfit”.

Blogger Leandra Medine, 21, celebrates her passion for the kind of fashion loved by women but hated by a good number of straight men in her blog, “The Man Repeller.”

One fine day, while shopping at Topshop, Medine recalls lamenting the state of her love life when her girlfriend pointed out: “You’re wearing a denim button-up with high-waist denim cut-offs and black suede flat booties.”

photo courtesy of manrepeller.com

That evening, she started her blog.

Manrepeller.com is filled with Leandra’s hysterical take on trends, with entries ranging from her own interpretation of Martin Margiela’s paper dress and boots to reviewing the latest from Paris and New York Fashion Weeks.

She likes to share finds that would undoubtedly wow other women but appall men, thus calling them “man repeller” or MR.

She defines “man repeller” as outfitting one’s self in a sartorially offensive way, resulting in repelling members of the opposite sex.

For more about the Leandra Medine and Man-Repelling, please check out the rest of the article in today’s On The Radar of the Sunday Star.

Incidentally, Leandra’s blog is nominated in the “Most Original” category of the Bloglovin’ awards. Vote for The Man Repeller here!

when i booked for my tickets to watch The National in Singapore, I just emailed their PR and management team for an interview because you know, why not? and they said YES!

i had the chance to chat with scott devendorf over the phone. i was kind of a wreck before the interview. thankfully, it went on so smoothly. we talked about so many things, too bad i can’t print everything for on the radar.

below is an excerpt of my interview:

Philippine Star:After the critical success of both ”Alligator” and ”Boxer,” did you feel any kind of pressure while recording ”High Violet”? Was the songwriting process different?

That was actually a long process as well and it took us a couple of years to finish it. Aaron and Bryce were the ones in charge in curating that project. We knew a lot of fellow Brooklyn-based bands who were touring and recording or people we were friends with or friends of friends. We wanted everyone to contribute a song, which is neither a cast-off song nor a B-Side. We needed something that was specifically for the record, maybe a near-and-dear song or a really good cover. In over two years, we convinced a lot of people to help us with Red+Hot and “Dark was the Night” was sort of a companion piece for the ’90s “No Alternative.”

for more of my interview for on the radar, please check out this link.

To know more about The National visit their website at http://www.americanmary.com/ and you can also follow them on Twitter: @The_National. For tickets to their show in Singapore, please visit http://www.sistic.com.sg.

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Thanks to Tom Wironen of Post Hoc Management for making this interview possible.

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These past few years, Korea’s influence on Asian pop culture has been undeniable. Musical acts and soap operas have eclipsed computers and cars as South Korea’s biggest exports, making superstars like Rain and Daniel Henney household names in Asia.

With the inclusion of Seoul in the New York Times’ “Top 31 places to go to in 2010,” it doesn’t come as a surprise that anything Korean has become an obsession among trend- and style-savvy Filipinos.

Enter Insadong resto/bar. Located along Kalayaan Avenue in Diliman, Quezon City, the place has become a cozy hangout for the hip student crowd from neighboring schools as well as Korean expatriates who reside and study in the area’s top English schools.

photos courtesy of poma malantic.

To know more about Insadong, please read the rest of the article here in this Sunday Star’s On the Radar.

In Italy, where police-men are clad in Valentino uniforms and football players are in Armani-designed kits, one can certainly see that design is truly the focal point here.

The notion of bella figura, which literally translates to “beautiful figure,” is more understood to mean “good image.” The idea is inculcated from birth. This doesn’t just refer to the clothes you wear but involves how you appear. Etiquette, reputation, style are all equally important.

Italians are also known for their flamboyance and attention to detail. And an integral part of their aesthetic are accessories, where one can express their personal style through scarves, bags, shoes, jewelry and watches.

Now Manila can experience bella figura through Vabene watches.

Launched in 2006, the brand was established by trained architect Giorgio Grimaldi, who wanted to combine fashion and modern design with his family’s profound knowledge in high-end watch making and traditional Italian jewelry craftsmanship.

Vabene or va bene means “OK” in Italian. It produces watches aimed at fashion-forward individuals, with new models delivered every two months to keep the collections fresh and up-to-date.Among the current models for Fall/Winter 2010, the pieces that stood out for me are the Adesso, Art and Pirati.

To read more about Vabene watches, please read my article in today’s On the Radar.