A Cooler End To The Summer

While it is not exactly Fall yet, the weather would show us otherwise, as the evenings come sooner and the hot sun becomes more and more forgiving, the time for a nice jacket for cooler evenings has come. However, one cannot just simply dive into their closet and pull out the heavy duty browns and grays that so often populate our Fall wardrobe. Instead we must keep in mind that since it is still summer we should still try and maintain somewhat of a summer look.

Here, for example, the saturated green jacket, blends in well to the grey henley beneath, which leads on to the white pants below. The look ends in the black boots which solidify the look.

Jacket - Abercrombie & Fitch

Henley - Esprite

Pants - Belshka

Boots - Clark's Original Desert Boot

JCrew's Fall Lookbook bears a similar look, with the blending of saturated colors to a white bottom, to a sturdy black or brown pair of shoes/boots. The idea is of warms colors, such as the green, to cooler colors, such as the grey and then white; to bring those to worlds together.

Bands to Live By

In today's modern world, the average person becomes acquainted with thousands of artists, ranging from mediocre bands to one hit wonders. However, every once in a while there are those few that can sweep a generation. Those who have the ability to spell out even the most complicated emotion through their music. These are bands to live by. Now ever individual is welcome to their own personal take on what makes an ideal band, however this is my own personal take which I would highly recommend to anyone.

KEANE

Finding its roots in Battle, East Sussex, England, Keane has risen to popularity ever since their debut album Hopes and Fears in 2004, where it became the second best selling album in England that year. With two new albums released since then and a large number of B-Side tracks, Keane has solidified itself abroad and in the US as a staple of brit-pop. While Keane's more recent songs have featured guitars and more heavy synthesizers, giving the band a pop DuranDuran kind of sound, the band made its foundations on the piano, being backed by drums and the vocals of lead singer Tom Chaplin.
Easily one of the top bands, in my opinion, of the last decade.

COLDPLAY

Formed in London, England in 1997, Coldplay has had a huge degree of commercial success in the US as well as in their home country and around the world. Having been around for well over a decade, the band has released a number of albums, each with the similar makeup of piano and drums, though with the occasional guitar thrown in. Their early style could easily be compared to bands such as Radiohead or Travis, but since then the band has made a name for itself in their own right. From their first album Parachutes to their most recent EP album Prospekt's March, each presents a wonderful array of songs that show the progression of the band, however any of them can be listened to alone and it is inevitable that some will find certain albums more pleasing than others.

RADIOHEAD

Another band from over the pond, Radiohead was formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England in 1985 and is seen by both of the two previous bands as a huge inspiration. Radiohead was ranked in Rollingstone's "Greatest Bands of All Time" as number 73. While each of the albums can stand alone as a testament to the the rock and alternative genres, their third album OK Computer can easily be considered as one of the greatest albums of all time. Songs such as Karma Police became huge successes for the band. While recording this album, the band mentions the late Beatles as having a huge influence on the tracks and the overall album as a whole.


THE KOOKS

England must be on to something, with this being the fourth band on the list from their, being formed in Brighton, East Sussex, England in 2004. A young band in its own right, having only two studio albums, the Kooks are another one of those bands with a rich B-Side catalogue. While most of their tracks deal with lost love and heartache, such as their songs "Do You Still Love Me?" and "When She Was Mine," songs such as "Matchbox" and "Down To The Market" bear a much more upbeat, rhythmic quality to them. With a third studio album on the way, only good things can be seen in the future for this band.


PHOENIX

The first and only band on the list not having its origins in England, Phoenix was instead founded across the channel in Versailles, France in 1999. Phoenix released three studio albums between their founding and 2009 where they received moderate success. However, their fourth studio album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, would see the band take off to new heights as one of the best bands of the year. Singles such as "1901" and "Lisztomania" became indie-rock anthems for millions of people worldwide. Their performance at the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, CA, USA was one of the most attended performances of the two days. With promises of a fourth studio album on the way, the indie youth of not just America, but the world, waits to be "wowed" by the genius that is Phoenix.