This is a thank you post. While our Pitti Uomo and men’s market European coverage is not close to being over, I wanted to take a quick moment and say thank you to a few people.

For all the fun and good times that are had during men’s markets/ fashion weeks, there is an incredible amount of hard work that goes into covering each and everyone one of these shows. I have been lucky enough to attend Pitti Uomo two seasons in a row; this past week being an almost solo affair.

There is simply no way I could have covered and discovered as much as I did at Pitti without the help of two Milanese gentleman, who really opened their arms not only in introducing me to the people and Italian brands showcased in Florence but also lent an incredible helping hand in photographing, translating and guiding me through the enormous show.

If you are not familiar with Marco Ravanetti from Men’s Reverie, you should. His Italian language menswear website is easily one of more well curated sites online for menswear. Hands down, Mr. Ravanetti absorbs and understand the Italian fashion market (and the world fashion market as well) better than most. His sheer Wiki-like knowledge of the industry has informed me beyond years. For that I thank him. (that’s him above assisting!)

Luca Merli (I’ll link him when his photo site goes online) went well beyond in filling in the photographic gaps in my own work. Unlike me, he is a photographer with a strong eye for composition (for the record, I am no photographer). Mr. Merli’s generosity throughout the four day Pitti Uomo fair was massive (Luca, of course, shot the photo above).

It is rare in this business to find not one but two people willing to lend a helping hand without hesitation. I feel very lucky to know both of these guys. Grazie.

Special thanks as well to the Esemplare brand for their constant support and sponsorship of Selectism and our coverage of Pitti Uomo. The young brand is on a steady roll forward. Be sure to keep an eye on Esemplare for fine men’s outwear.

© 2012 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: mens reverie

Impressively, English artists are heavily represented filling in 8 of the 15 records in my 2011 playlist across a diverse set of sounds – electronic, avante garde, techno, and rock. 2011 reinforced the diversity of England’s music scene and the whole of the United Kingdom. I thank them all for their wonderful contributions in sound.

The top 4 in this list really do explain where my head is at with sound at the moment.

In all, pulling together 2011’s list has been a bit difficult this year as I prepare to pack up house and move about five hours south. The distance in reality is short, but the move comes dead in the middle of the holiday season and has forced me into use easy Youtube links to share, but clearly with less personality than my podcasts. I apologize in advance to all my friends (maybe I’ll put it together once I get sorted out in the new flat).

I’ll drop some commentary above each record to give you and idea of where my head was at with each pick.

Thanks for listening and best to all in 2011.

My Most Played Music in 2011

15. The Night Will Always Win – Elbow (England)
I’m a sucker for the keys in this track. It takes a bit of time to build the slight momentum it carries. It offers only what it can.. and that is what makes it special. From Build a Rocket Boys!.

14. Ego – Yorke + Four Tet (England)

This 12inch only release came out of nowhere and was quickly gobbled up by vinyl junkies and resellers alike. I am still waiting for a proper digital version. Rhythmic and solid in that dark manner than carried me in 2011.

13. I Don’t Smoke – Matias Aguayo (Chile)
Caught this one while listening to this year’s Kompakt Total 12 compilation. As simple a hook as it gets.

12. Love Out of Lust – Lykki Li (Sweden)

I love her Wounded Rhymes record better than her EP. As dark as it may be to some, “Love Out of Lust” brought me hope.

11. Chinatown – Destroyer (Canada)

To be honest, I have no heard the full Kaputt LP, but this one kept coming up often while on the road.

10. Cave Song – WU LYF (England)

One of best ful-length albums this year: Go Tell Fire To The Mountain.

09. Amor-Fati – Washed Out (U.S.A.)

If you loved the EP, you will love this. The sound is only Washed Out. Similar and like the first.

08. Let England Shake – PJ Harvey (England)

I missed PJ Harvey and was happy to see her return with one of her best records yet.

07. Inchworm – Battles (U.S.A.)

Plucking and drumming. Nice pink cover as well.

06. Crystalline (Omar Souleyman Remix) – Bjork (Iceland/Syria)

“Crystalline” appears in this list as the most commercial friendly take on the Omar Souleyman sound. The Syran stree musician who has recorded multiple releases on analog four-track (most of them rough) glows with strength on this seriously hifi remix of the Bjork single. I highly recommend Omar Souleyman to all. Respect.

05. The Living Word – Cass McCombs (U.S.A.)

The American tradition of the singer songwriter remains strong with Domino’s release. He had two major releases this year; this one is off Humor Risk.

04. Street Halo – Burial (England)

Burial once again set the marker in sound. An impressive and digital friendly release from the reclusive one.

03. Blood Witness – Regis (England)

The hard sound of UK techno continues to pound down on the nightclubs of the world. This one is off of the single, In a Syrian Tongue. Clanky, deep and banging. Read his interview this month’s The Wire magazine under the Sandwell District moniker with others…

02. Dark Details – Andy Stott (England)

Some call it a new take on dub techno. I call it simply new. A stripped down bottom end sound that gets gutteral. Andy Stott’s two EP 12inch releases (now available as a 2 CD set) has set the bar for at least one end of the techno spectrum.

01. Battle for Middle You - Julio Bashmore (England)

I hear the band WAR in this. Absolute dancefloor killer in 2011.

** Special consideration (aka: the rest) **

Video Games (Mr. Fingers rmx) – Lana del Rey (U.S.A.)
I was very quickly burned out by the original, until I heard the remix courtesy of Simon Beckermann.

Feral – Radiohead (England)
The double drummer.

The Weeknd  - What You Need (Canada)
No need to explain this one…

The Black Keys- Gold On the Ceiling U.S.A.)
Not as strong as Brother, but still a great LP from The Black Keys. My only issue is that Led Zeppelin track in the middle of the album.

© 2011 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: cass mccoombs, Music, year end 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rwsuXHA7RA

Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.
And while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think
that they can change the world… are the ones who do.

© 2011 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: steve jobs

The Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and The Black Keys, for starters, emerged in 2010 with records that signalled not only their personal musical growth but also the start of the new wave in rock. For years, their music remained defined by the phrase “college rock.” Today they can simply be defined as “rock.”

One of the great benefits of following these three bands from their first releases rather than from their sophomore records is the viewpoint of seeing that initial flash of energy  as well as the response. It is of even greater benefit to hear them eight or 10 years on in their musical careers.

All of them delivering what I consider to be best records of their career.

None of the tracks signify a “countdown” of my favorite music of the year. Rather, you get a playlist of the songs I overplayed in 2010.*

My Top 12 Overplayed Tracks of 2010:

“CMYK” – James Blake
“Desire Be Desire Go” – Tame Impala
“Next Girl” – The Black Keys
“The Shrew Would Have Cushioned the Blow” – Joy Orbison
“Texico Bitches” – Broken Social Scene
“All I Want” – LCD Soundsystem
“On Melancholy Hill” – Gorillaz
“Victory” – The Walkmen
“Ready to Start” – The Arcade Fire
“Hang With Me” – Robyn
“You Got Me” – Scuba

© 2010 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: Music

© 2010 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: benfica, coffee

I had less than one day back in Boston before I was back at the airport about to head to Seattle for a small engagement. I was stepping into the boarding line when my phone rang with one of those calls you wish would not come. Straight out of line and out of the airport I went to deal with family matters. These things happen to us all at some point. I apologize to those in Seattle for the cancellation and appreciate their understanding.

I’ve been in a bit of a shit mood most of the day due to this. I’m not the friendliest of people to be around when I fall into this trap. Apologies aside, today was miserable, but little things brighten the spirit. Dinner will do it as will simple email banter. No one is better at this game than Nick. At times, he is forthright to such degree that it floors me (I call it ’sideballing’). Case in point is this back and forth between Pete (Highsnobiety/N.A.) and him. I laughed.

FROM Nick Schonberger
TO	Peter Williams ,
DATE Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 4:02 PM
SUBJECT	Fwd:

might be of mild interest.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: xxx
Date: Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 12:02 PM
Subject:
To: Nick Schonberger 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/ ...

british-library-ponders-the-historical-value-of-twitter-2082711.html

---

FROM Peter Williams
TO	Nick Schonberger
CC	Jeff
DATE Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 4:05 PM
SUBJECT	Re:

I like how the article concludes with a paragraph on celebrities in bikinis.

---

FROM Nick Schonberger
TO	Peter Williams
CC	Jeff
DATE Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 4:09 PM
SUBJECT	Re:

twitter is not the reason i sent you the article.

© 2010 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: details, nyc, seattle, twitter

This first full post comes from my Macbook Pro. While not a very interesting line of conversation (unless you are @eugenekan), I find it important to note, if only to speak out loud to myself. For the last hour I have been trying to work my first proper post on this “new” blog of mine from an iMac – my day to day “blogging” workhorse and music machine (I highly recommend them). For this line of writing, it simply did not work me (note I had to post a Broken Social Scene video as filler prior to this and have already been flogged by at least one commenter – thanks ‘ave’).

Some quick housekeeping: for those who followed my other “blog” on Highsnobiety, you’ll surely get the same mix of content. Those familiar with The Social Consumer will (hopefully) notice some similarities. If anything, I’m hoping this will kick my ass to restart that project, which Nick Schonberger and I began before Selectism launched. I get an email almost weekly from Nick on my lack of content for SC. He should continue on the regular to mail me regarding this.

But before I get back to the former, I’ll do the obvious and thank the readers who have supported Selectism as well as the writers who keep the site updated with, what we believe to be, a very wide look at products and goods which matter on some level. While we’re not working towards greater goals such as working new fuels from agricultural waste (amazingly important), we do believe we provide a service to some. I also want to thank all the critics, naysayers, and jaded comment gluttons who continue to question and critique each and every one of our posts. We thank you for off-the-cuff honesty as well as your occasional ridiculousness. You make us pause, think, laugh, and feel concerned sometimes in the same breath.

Now to the heart of what I wanted to discuss. It is a mixture of of ideas and thoughts floating through my head as I think back at my time working in this space…

Not five years ago, I was working on a podcast project called the Weeklydrop. The show, which began as a response to the growing world of sneaker culture, was a laugh out loud talk program unlike anything at the time. We worked in opening a communication channel with listeners (’sneakerheads’ as well as a slew of industry insiders from the world of PR and beyond) with the creators designing, developing, and producing the goods and services which came from the world often described as “streetwear.” The show very quickly turned into a vehicle for Rob, Frank, and I to verbally demean one another while our guests sat back and tried to understand  what they had signed up for. Through all of that passion was a strong purpose in providing our listeners with history lessons and insight from an loose industry that never  actually asked for the attention.

In the end, the show worked. As hosts, we did not, and today we’re all doing excellent things in our own personal circles as an offshoot of Weeklydrop. That is the one positive aspect of the show.

In my case, Weeklydrop allowed me to explore a poorman’s version of sociology and consumerism. Some would call it marketing, but it goes well beyond that. At the time, I used to speak with Mr. Schonberger ad nauseam on ideas before we launched The Social Consumer. We explored “the moment” in a very different way than The New York Times version (an excellent blog as well). Fundamentally we attempted to explore the “hype movement” but quickly moved onto reviewing dating sites and arguing for a moratorium on heritage.

Fast forward to the birth of Selectism, which,  for all intents and purposes, is refined take on menswear blogging using the Highsnobiety model of volume. Many call it “product” blogging which is very different than what I consider to be “opinion/editorial” blogging.

I find it awfully important to make this distinction. The reason is that  I fear some may suspect our “News” (front page) to be op/ed. This is not the case unless a post refers to one of our features or interviews. In general, Selectism is a “product” blog. This means we sift through thousands of RSS feeds linking to everything from pencils to other fashion centric and niche topics. We accept the endless pitches (good and bad) to deliver our users with short and concise “hits” that usually revolve around single goods and services (with some clear exceptions: runway shots, lookbooks, features).

“Op/ed” blogging is a bit different in my eyes. There you should expect to see more theory based writing which offers validated arguments for/against any number of subjects. Sure, Selectism occasionally drops the sly counterpoint or conversation starter in our “News” but we don’t do it too often (maybe we should).

My point is that our style of blogging is more about providing a wide product selection which sometimes means we have products that overlap or are similar. This can happen when something sparks our interest which can be clearly seen on days where multiple hats make the “News.”

I have gone on about this matter in order to address one of the most direct comments we have had this year regarding a rag & bone Spring 2011 collection post:

“I just dont get how people buy into this stuff…”

The commenter is, generally speaking, correct. How can anyone “buy” into everything we post? Then again, no one is suggesting you should.

What Selectism brings to the market is that choice and option to be interested or scroll on for more. While my co-workers may not agree with me, I do not believe our focus is to trend. If anything we just give options. I believe “op/ed” and “niche” blogs do a better job of this. We simply aggregate it, put it to the users and allow for them to decide.

This brings me to one of my favorite posts on Gary Warnett’s GWARIZM blog regarding journalism:

“If you’ve written an uncritical, bombastic paragraph about a new t-shirt company by slightly deconstructing the promo-guff someone emailed you as a PDF attachment and are patting yourself on the back I’d like to get semi-literate for a second and point you in the direction of the books above.”

Mr. Warnett (as usual) makes an outstanding argument for bloggers to be disassociated with the term journalist. He’s very right in some regards but his piece does not explore what modern journalism is to him. As a fan, I would very much like to hear his take on the matter. Maybe I’ll invite him to jump on the phone and we’ll round table this topic. Or not.

While at least three of our staffers have degrees in Journalism (NS, JD, and I), I do not believe any of us see our “News” as proper journalistic endeavors. They are much closer to being “quick hits” that inform our readers of the “new” in whatever form we desire.

And that may well be the most I’ll discuss on the topic of Selectism outside of maybe answering some reader mail. Thanks for making it this far.

© 2010 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: blogging

© 2010 Selectism for Titel Media. Author: Jeff Carvalho | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us | ShareThis
Post tags: boston, broken social scene