The face of a new movement?

joannanewsom
Originally uploaded by becklerg.

Last week after the Animal Collective show I got really excited talking about my theory of the Next Big Thing in music and fashion, and I talked about it so much that now I'm kind of over it, but I thought I'd write about it a little bit here, because, well, I don't really have anything else to write about today. One problem is I can't think of a name for it, D.P. suggested "clog rock" but I can tell you that that's not gonna catch on and I don't agree that it sums it up. Pitchfork already has a "freak-folk" category, but I hope that this will expand a bit beyond just the folky stuff or it won't have much staying power.

Anyway, these are my ideas: the eighties shit is over, coke is over, the east coast isn't going to dictate what's cool for a little while. Well, it will because it always does, but east coasters are going to be trying to emulate west coast casual style. People are going to be smoking a lot more pot and hash (I swear hash already has a buzz around it, people are talking about it all the time). These are the inspirations that I see for this stuff: Hansudatta Swami (ooh, I should do a blog post about him tomorrow, I was listening to his album the other day and it's sooo good), the Beach Boys of Smile, Friends, and 20/20, Vashti Bunyan, tropicalia. For girls, all that extremely layered hair is going to be out and everyone is going to have long, straight hair, some even all one length. Peasanty, hippy-ish kinds of embroidered tops and dresses with maybe cowboy boots or suede boots will be a big look. I bet everyone will stop wearing high heels all the time, especially pointy ones, thank god. Men are gonna have long hair and beards will be huge (this is already happening) Men may even be rocking-gasp!-tie dye (don't laugh, Animal Collective were wearing it the other night and it looked normal). People will cultivate a kind of cultish, hare krishna vibe and everyone will be much nicer.

I'm not saying I endorse this trend or even that it will get that big, just that there has to be something to fill the eighties void and that that shit better be over, for real. We've been suffering through it for like four or five years! I've heard that there's kind of a style vacuum in New York right now (I'll see for myself in a few weeks), and maybe this trend will rush in to fill it.