House of Gerrish International

We should all wear Surgical Masks

ricky — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:47:17 +0000

The Chinese do it. And everybody knows they are on to something . The casual nature with which we in Europe and America treat everyday diseases, sharing them willy-nilly as if they were Christmas gifts, is somewhat worrying. Most Chinese wear surgical masks not to protect themselves from others’ communicable diseases, but to protect others from the disease they themselves have. This for me suddenly casts a much more noble light on the silly appearance they have as they go about their daily lives looking like a bunch of deranged surgeons.

Recently I worked on a film shoot at a…

Nick Drake

Matt — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:31:41 +0000

Anticipating another forgettable Friday night out, last weekend, beer in hand, I switched on the TV to get me in the mood. Three hours later I was still watching BBC 4′s special on Nick Drake, the elusive English folk singer, who I’m sure you all know. Usually I would run a mile from red-bearded hippies and organic, stripy-tighted troubadours. But the tribute concert to the man was actually very touching -- seeing the elegant lady tapping on the piano, the strings in harmony behind and the singers with almost trance-like immersion. But above all, his songs -- each one reminding…

LA

Matt — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:24:13 +0000

“Cities are distinguished by the catastrophic forms they presuppose and which are a vital part of their essential charm. New York is King Kong, or the blackout, or vertical bombardment: Towering Inferno. Los Angeles is the horizontal fault, California breaking off and sliding into the Pacific: Earthquake.”
- Jean Baudrillard

“Los Angeles is just New York lying down”
- Quentin Crisp

“I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.”
- Andy Warhol

“I’d move to Los Angeles if New Zealand and Australia were swallowed up…

I Know Now Why You Cry

Simon — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:58:35 +0000

Last week I watched Terminator Salvation, sat mostly submerged in a frothy bath of water with 4 lit candles and a glass of Banrock Station Cabernet Sauvignon (£7.99). Immediately a number of questions should be entering your mind.

Firstly: “What on earth is Simon – a man of no small stature with a testosterone count roughly equal to the cast of Predator – doing immersed in the sort of scenario you‘d encounter in an episode of Sex & The City?

Secondly: “£7.99 for Banrock Station? You’ve been ripped off mate”

Thirdly: “I wonder what Simon looks like naked?”

Fourthly: “How…

2000 – 2010: splintering scenes

hugh — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:30:45 +0000

Just reading this Guardian piece debating whether Pitchforks 200 albums of the decade is a significant list that we should take note of. The answer for me from both a music fan and cultural observer angle is yes definitely. Those guys went beyond the guitar based music with the odd exception mindset that the NME and Q had to one where any album, whether it was from a Norwegian disco producer or Brooklyn 4 piece was listened to and assessed on a level playing field.

I’ve got to be thankful to them for some of my…

EXCLUSIVE Norman Jay uncut interview

miguel — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:18:56 +0000

“Success has no taste, or smell, and when you get used to it, it’s as if it didn’t exist” says Huma Rojo in Almodóvar’s Todo Sobre Mi Madre. Tragically insatiable as human beings may / may not be, Norman Jay MBE seems momentarily appeased: “The Queen could have given me a chocolate biscuit, I’d still be happy”, he says, departing for once from his slick media-type tones into a 1970s Nottin’ ‘ill bubble.

Norman Jay, veteran DJ of house with a black flavour, is also co-founder of Kiss FM, the only black DJ to be awarded an MBE, and has…

The Party Post

barima — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:25:08 +0000

by Barima Owusu-Nyantekyi of barimavox.blogspot.com

Always wear something interesting to a party, even when it’s a costume. Parties are a dime a dozen for the average social animal, so don’t count on the atmosphere, guests and copious alcohol consumption to make it memorable (especially the last one, unless your braincells happen to be of singularly resilient genetic stock)

The most “young” party-friendly piece I own is the tailored tracksuit-derived jacket from Junya Watanabe Man S/S 07, which, perhaps too literally, puts the “sport” in “sportjacket.” At least a third of its brilliance rests in the fact that it’s publicly unwearable…

The Polar Bear Club of Coney Island

Matt — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:07:47 +0000

I recently took the half-hour trip across Brooklyn to visit Coney Island. Over sprawling neighbourhoods and cemeteries the F train rattled until it reached its final destination, a platform suspended on stilts with the sound of gulls and sniff of sea air. To the beach I walked, along quiet streets, packed away for the Winter months, past empty markets, fairgrounds and beer gardens, till I hit the boardwalk, the wooden arc and beating heart of Coney Island. To my surprise, there in front of me, gathered on the boards was a small group of smiling, half-naked men, clad in rubber…

New York….The Cutting Edge of Fashion

georgie — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:01:08 +0000

I know my first post should be intellectually stimulating, set the tone for deep and meaningful observations yet to come but i just couldn't resist sharing this fine fashion moment witnessed one Saturday on the New York subway. The yanks may be at the top of their game sartorially speaking but this guy is in a league all of his own! Nifty suit jacket...bit of ring bling...all topped off with possibly the most ingenious bit of head gear i could ever hope to exist. Forget the fedoras doily swimming caps are back in the game... please please please may this catch on!

Lil Wayne

Matt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:48:03 +0000

I’ve been living in New York for a few months now. I can’t help but notice the widespread adoration for Dwayne Michael Carter, aka Lil Wayne. This does not just include preppy kids in average nightclubs, but intelligent, self-conscious connoisseurs of culture, such as my flatmate Greg, who prides himself on an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things, from the smell of children to lox bagels, roofies to Ryan Phillipe.

But when we bring up Lil Wayne, formerly of ‘Hot Boys’, he seems to melt like a knob of butter on Beyonce’s inner thigh. Why, I ask, do you worship…