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Spotify debuted its new Discover Weekly feature last week — have you been using it? So far, it's not half bad. It's about a quarter bad, which in my experience with tune preference predictors is more successful than usual.

I love Reformation's commitment to sustainable fashion and their feminine, minimalist designs, but most of them are made for ladies who have little need for bras, i.e. not me. Which is why I'm excited about their new I'm Up Here collection. #forboobs

A dreamy summertime hammock.

Everlane announced the appointment of Rebekka Bay as their new Head of Product and Design. Known as the mastermind behind Cos and for her recent (short) stint at Gap, perhaps this is where her vision will find its fit. I've loved Everlane from the beginning — their basics are well-made, affordable and transparently produced with sustainability in mind — so I'm excited to see what she brings to the brand.

Interesting article about how Michael Heizer's epic land art project "City" could play into the 2016 Presidential campaign. We recently watched the documentary about the making of Levitated Mass and I highly recommend it. I've been thinking for the past couple of years that I would love to go on a land art road trip ... maybe when "City" opens.

Image via Terrain

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Bay Area-ites: Lisa Says Gah is having a pop-up shop at Ogaard next weekend. I'm excited to see their wares in person! Check out the deets: #oaklandsaysgah

The stories behind non-French French-y brands. 

Tame Impala's new album just came out. I've only listened to it once so far, but it's different and I'm liking it. Looking forward to giving it more listens this summer.

Feeling this lace-up style.

Lena Dunham is launching a newsletter with Jenni Konner, her bff and the showrunner for Girls. It's called Lenny and Dunham says it will be a place “to remember that the internet has the power to take you into quiet places — something we don’t usually use it for.” I'm all for it.

Image of Alice Wiese embroidery via Ogaard

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How cool are the Bird-of-paradise prints of Fendi's Cruise 2016 collection? Tim Blanks' review is worth reading as always.

Flipping out over the delicious rosewater notes of Amaro Montenegro. It's named after a princess, known as 'the liqueur of the virtues' and perfect for summer.

Also perfect for summer? These Prada and Céline-inspired ice creams by Coolhaus. Seriously, the Céline Coconut Negroni Ice Cream sounds amazing and I might have to make it.

If you love tassels, as I do, you should check out Takara Design jewelry.

If Madewell is the new J. Crew, what's the new Madewell?

It's from a while ago, but we watched this PBS documentary on Peter, Paul and Mary this weekend and it was pretty amazing. They were so committed to their music and the causes they sang about, and have such an amazing focus and intensity in their harmonies. Plus, Mary Travers was a true original and a major babe.

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Marques'Almeida won the coveted top LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Viva denim!

Excited to dive into the summer issue of the Desert Oracle. Especially the article about buying property at tax auctions.

Did you hear that Serial is coming back for two more seasons?! The stories they'll cover are still top secret, but I can't imagine they will be any less addictive or compelling than season one. Luckily this time they're producing two seasons at once so there will be less of a wait for the next installments.

Loving SF-based online shop Lisa Says Gah. Especially their interview series.

Super excited about planning our first trip to Austin for Fun Fun Fun Fest!

Photo via Lisa Says Gah

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Céline pre-fall 2015 is unsurprisingly great. Vests that turn into ribbons and plunging layered slip dresses, anyone? Plus, excellent brutalist earring work as always.

What do you think about lab-grown leather? 

Excited to see how the Louis Vuitton cruise collection plays out in Bob Hope's mid-century spaceship of a house in Palm Springs.

We saw Steve Earle at the Great American Music Hall on Friday. So good. Guitar Town on repeat.

Before the show, we got cocktails at Holy Mountain, the bar above Oakland restaurant Hawker Fare's new spot in SF. Tim's drink included this liqueur made from an impressive number of herbs, and I'd be curious to try it in make-at-home cocktails.

The coolest bird feeders.

And a perfect summer dress. (Can't beat a dress with pockets.)

Tune In: Lost In The Dream

Photos by Adam Granduciel via T Magazine

I recently came across T Magazine's article on a year's worth of photos taken by The War On Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel. As the year begins to draw to a close, reflection on its best albums will begin, and for me, Lost In The Dream will almost certainly occupy the number one spot. The photos span a year the band spent traveling the world in support of the third album and show Granduciel's eye is on the level of his ear.



This session for KEXP in Seattle has some fantastic live versions of songs from the album, along with a bit of background on its making. They've certainly earned their comparisons to Tom Petty and Dylan, but I was most delighted by the strains of Roxy Music that run through several tracks like Under The Pressure  and Disappearing. If he and sometime bandmate Kurt Vile can each put out a record on alternating years, we'll be in good shape. Also, as I learned from an interview with Vogue, Granduciel is a writer characterized by anxiousness and perfectionism, always on the quest for "beautiful moments of 'hey,'" and with a penchant for eBay alerts and vintage denim — a man after my own heart.

Tune In: Indian Summer

It's almost September and everyone's inner school calendar is probably telling them that summer's almost over. Luckily, in the Bay Area, it's all about Indian Summer. June gloom seeped into too much of July, so I'm looking forward to what I hope will be a gloriously awesome September and October. I'd say we're even owed a bit of November. In that spirit, here's a hopefully-not-belated summer playlist. I recommend listening on a boat if possible, but it should be equally effective for looking out the window on a road trip, walking around your neighborhood on a sunny day, or having a picnic at a park or beach.

Billy Bragg & Wilco | California Stars

Unkown Mortal Orchestra | Swim and Sleep

Kurt Vile | Wakin on a Pretty Day

Roxy Music | More Than This

Devendra Banhart | Never Seen Such Good Things

The Flying Burrito Brothers | Christine's Tune

Os Mutantes | A Minha Menina

Broken Social Scene | Pacific Theme

ELO | Strange Magic

Harry Nilsson | Coconut

Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra | I've Been Down So Long

Neon Indian | Polish Girl

Listen via Spotify.

Tune In: Solange

Way into this video for Losing You off of Solange's new EP True. There's nothing better than when fashion and music collide, and Solange always strikes the perfect style note. I'm waiting for her to kick out a super jam, even though I get that that's Beyonce territory, and Solange is carving out her own lower-fi, electro-influenced, Dev Hynes-produced style. Maybe we can hope for one when her album drops later this year. Still, this song has remained quietly and insistently stuck in my head for the past couple weeks.

The video was filmed in South Africa and features a local chapter of Les Sapeurs, who only add to the style quotient. Say what you want, but I'd definitely like to be invited to that pool party, and I don't think you can argue with shoes and the genius-level pattern mixing on display here.

Tune In: Tame Impala

Tame Impala is probably my favorite band from Perth. Their 2010 album Innerspeaker is awesomely atmospheric and listenable the whole way through, and now they've got a new one out, Lonerism. Everyone's all Elephant is the jam, and it has the trippier video,  but I think it's Apocalypse Dreams.

Listening through a cloud of cannabis isn't my thing, but Tame Impala is great driving around on a sunny day tripping on being alone (as the album's title suggests), spacing out, and soaking up fuzzy, vintage guitar sounds.

Tune in: Harry Nilsson

Wacky, wonderful, rocking, poignant at turns,  Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him? His best friends are the Beatles, he'll take you out for a night of drunken revelry that might turn into a weekend (or a year, ask John Lennon), he'll wake up in his robe and sing you one of his songs about being hungover (he was an expert) and then break your heart with his original version of "One." He'll offer to let you stay in his London flat, but you probably don't want to take him up on it.

Nilsson's music is idiosyncratic, weird, verging on novelty (maybe getting there sometimes), but there's an affecting, heart-piercingness at its core, in his voice and lyrics, and he had undeniable talent as a songwriter. No one sings noises like he does, and whenever I listen to him, I find myself singing every yowl and wah wah hours later in my head. Plus, he's a genius with album titles: Nilsson Schmilsson, Son of Schmilsson, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, Knnillssonn.

If you like his music and are interested in his hijinks, I recommend the above referenced documentary. Let Harry Nilsson give you whirl!

Washed Out

Going to the beach today and to see Washed Out later. It all fits together.

Ulrika Sandstrom

I forget now how I came across Swedish designer Ulrika Sandstrom's website, but I keep going back for another look. I was first drawn to her adorable 60s inspired dresses, but her collections also include great jackets, coats, pants and jumpsuits. I love how most of her collections are inspired by music or movies. The looks above are from Sandstrom's  post-piracy designs which reference Vivienne Westwood's Pirates collection and are also inspired by the New Romantics and 80s pop (no wonder these are my favorites - big Adam Ant fan):

Halloween 2008 as Adam Ant

Her latest is West End Girls, inspired by everything England.

I love it when independent designers have their own webshops. It makes their designs more accessible (i.e. you don't have to seek out a tiny, out of the way, high end boutique). How convenient not to have to get to Stockholm!

P.S. - The prices look a lot less scary when you convert them from Swedish Kroners.

And because these are designs inspired by music: